Sinnoh Tales: Let's Challenge the Battle Frontier!
by Loveon
Summary: Sequel to Hoenn Tales. Raven gets an invite to participate at Sinnoh's newly built Battle Frontier. Of course, she's just in for it so she can visit her friends there... Too bad Jun has other ideas. Second character is updated to match the latest chapter.
1. Prologue

Author's Notes: So, not even a week after I finished Hoenn Tales, I'm starting it's sequel. Yes, I'm impatient. Um, let's see, things to first say...

The character named Yellow is the same Yellow from Pokemon Special/Adventures.  
Because I'm lazy, Brendan's "hat" is being called hair.  
The character named Pearl is not the rival from DPPt. She is the character Crystal, just with brown hair and being related to people she's not.  
Gold and Silver aren't the same characters from Pokemon Special/Adventures. They're the game characters, but I didn't want to name Gold Ethan, so... Lyra's also from the games.

That's all I can think of right now. Although it would help if you previously read Hoenn Tales, you don't have to read it first...

Anyways, enjoy the story!~

* * *

Prologue

It was the end of May, and the Hoenn region was pretty warm, as it always was. In the small town of Littleroot, a young girl slept peacefully in her bed.

Until she suddenly sat straight up for no apparent reason. She looked around slowly at her room before moving to get out of bed.

She patted down her messy hair, which remained messy despite the patting, and walked out of her room, heading downstairs.

Once she reached the bottom, she was greeted by a blonde haired girl. "Good morning, Raven!" she said happily.

The girl, Raven, nodded at her, smiling slightly. "Morning, Yellow."

The two walked towards the kitchen, where Raven's mother was in the kitchen, putting dishes away in the cabinets. Her father, a gym leader named Norman, sat at the kitchen table with two kids; a boy with white hair and a green headband and a girl with dark brown hair in pigtails.

Her mother turned around, looking at Raven and sighing. "Can't you even try to make your hair look nice for once?"

Raven pouted. "I'll fix it later, besides, I just woke up…"

"Go eat some cereal then. Your father murdered the stove earlier, so I couldn't make anything."

Her father laughed slightly. "Come on! How was I supposed to know what direction you shouldn't turn the dial in?"

"It's common sense that it doesn't turn in the direction that it clearly isn't letting you turn it in!"

Raven and Yellow both sat down at the table, and the boy waved slightly. "Good morning," he mumbled, eating cereal in a bored manner.

"Morning, Brendan…" she said, grabbing a cereal box on the table and a bowl that was already there. After pouring some into the bowl, she started eating it, clearly half-asleep. She then stopped chewing and jumped up from her seat.

"Wait a second!" she shouted. "Brendan, Pearl, why the heck are you in my house acting like you live here?"

Yes, the two kids sitting at the table did not live there… Brendan and Pearl Birch lived in the house next door, where their father, a Pokémon professor also lived.

"Um… Because we felt like it?"

"Get out! I'm not even dressed!"

"…And that's ever stopped you from doing anything?"

Norman interrupted the two's argument. "Ah, Raven, there was a letter in the mail today for you," he said, pointing to a small table by the front door. "While you're at it, go look at the other mail for me to, okay?"

Raven sighed, going to the table at looking through the mail. When she found the letter addressed to her, she ripped open the paper and took out the letter inside.

"Dear Miss Raven of Littleroot Town,

You have been invited to attend the grand opening of Sinnoh's Battle Frontier. We have observed several of your battles before and would be honored if you-"

Raven stopped reading it aloud and tossed it to the side. "Junk."

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?" everyone else, minus Yellow, shouted at her.

"It was junk mail, wasn't it…?"

Norman walked over to where she stood and picked up the tossed letter. "It's not junk. You're personally being asked to go to the Sinnoh Battle Frontier to participate."

"Oh. That's nice."

"…Do you even know what the Battle Frontier is?"

"No."

Norman sighed, as did everyone else. However, he began explaining it. "Hoenn also has its own Battle Frontier, although I don't know if it'll be quite the same. It's a place with several facilities with challenges for Pokémon trainers. I guess they must've just made one in Sinnoh."

"Oh, I see…"

Norman looked over the letter. "It says the opening is on June 1st and that you can catch a boat to it on May 30th in Slateport City."

"Ehhhh…"

"You know, you can have a little more of a reaction than that," Norman laughed.

Just then, the phone began ringing. For some reason, Pearl got up from her seat to go answer the phone, although it wasn't her house. "Hello? No, this isn't her. Fine. Raven, it's a phone call for you," she said, holding out the phone. Raven hurried over and took the phone.

"Hello?… Oh, it's Dawn! Dawn!"

Pearl watched Raven jump around happily before walking to the front door. "Say, Norman, do you think these people would mind if I invited a couple of my own friends to the Battle Frontier?"

"Uh, probably not…"

"I'll be back in a moment then!~" she said happily and left the house.

"Invited to the Battle Frontier in Sinnoh? That's funny, I just got an invitation to go there! Yeah, I did!" Raven said on the phone.

Meanwhile, Brendan and Yellow were still sitting at the table, eating. Brendan was making a face like he was sick as he said, "I think I know who Pearl's going to invite…"

"Who?"

"Our cousin who lives in Johto…" he began slowly. "Her name's Lyra… But then again, I don't know if that's who Pearl has in mind!"

At that, he began laughing nervously, and Yellow had to wonder what kind of person this Lyra girl was…

* * *

It was May 30th, the day of the ship leaving to Sinnoh. The group of four was waiting in the port in Slateport City.

Raven was wearing a short sleeved shirt with a hoodie and black shorts. She was jumping around excitedly like a little kid, mainly because she knew she was going to be seeing her friends in Sinnoh soon.

Yellow was next to her, watching her with a smile on her face. She wore a straw hat to cover up her ponytail, and what appeared to be a summer version of the outfit she always wore, with only the pants and sleeves shortened.

Brendan was wearing his usual outfit, a black, short-sleeved shirt and longer black pants, as well as a green headband across his forehead.

Pearl was next to him, looking around for something. She wore a red shirt and a white jacket, as well as black and yellow biker shorts.

"So, Pearl?" Raven asked.

"Hmm?"

"Who are we waiting for?"

"Some people."

"…Well, I already knew that."

Pearl started laughing. "I'm sorry. But, we're waiting for three people. I can't describe them, but I'll know them once I see them," she said and Raven nodded eagerly.

Many ships were coming and going through the port, and one ship just stopped and began letting off people. Pearl looked towards this ship, apparently waiting for the people she invited…

"Annnddd, there they are!" Pearl shouted and began waving. "Hey! Over here! Gold!"

Nearby, a boy waved back and began running towards them, two other people following him closely.

"Pearl! Long time, no see, yeah?" the boy said, stopping in front of the group. He wore a red and black hoodie and gray pants, along with a yellow and black cap. A black chunk of hair hung in front of his face, slightly covering one of his eyes.

"Raven, Yellow, this is Gold," Pearl said, looking back at Raven, Yellow, and Brendan. "The red haired boy is Silver, and the one with the white hat is our cousin, Lyra."

The red haired boy, who wore a black shirt and dark blue pants, nodded slightly at them. The smallest of the three, the girl named Lyra, wore an odd white hat with a red ribbon, along with a red shirt and short blue overalls.

Pearl looked back at Gold, Silver, and Lyra. "And you guys, the one with the straw hat is Yellow, while the other one is Raven."

"So, I've been labeled as 'the other one' now, haven't I?" Raven asked.

"Yep!"

"…"

Just then, a voice came out over the ship's intercom. "Attention, everyone! Anyone headed to the Battle Frontier in the Sinnoh region, please begin heading onto the ship labeled S.S. Tidal! The ship will leave in 10 minutes! I repeat-"

"Well, that's us!" Pearl said happily. "Come on guys! Follow me!"


	2. Chapter One  VS Volkner and Flint

Author's Notes: Nothing much to mention for this chapter... Other than that Jun is the character named Barry (or whatever people decide to name him.) And... I'm not too good at writing double battles...

* * *

Chapter One

After about two days on the S.S. Tidal, the ship finally arrived at an island off the east of the Sinnoh region, called the Battle Zone. The place was already packed with people, and as the ship dropped off even more, well… It would be quite easy to get lost in the crowd.

"Come on, don't get lost now!" Pearl ordered, grabbing Raven's hand and dragging her off the ship. "Now… how in the world are we going to find your friends? Did they mention where'd they be waiting?"

"No… Ugh, I feel even sicker now that we're on the ground," Raven whined, covering her mouth. After spending a couple of days on a rocking ship, being back on flat ground also made her feel queasy. "Oh… Wait a sec…"

All of a sudden, her motion sickness disappeared as she placed a hand over her eyes, squinting. "Is that… Yes, I think it is!"

"What? Did you find an oasis?" Brendan asked, fanning himself. It was already pretty hot outside, and it wasn't even 10 a.m. yet…

"No!" she snapped and looked at him in annoyance. "There wouldn't be any oases here, it's not the desert. But anyways… It's Jun! Jun! Hey!" she shouted, waving. "Heyyyy!"

A blonde haired boy wearing an orange and white striped shirt was leaning against a pole, tapping a orange watch around his wrist. He heard her calling and looked up quickly before charging over to them.

"Hey, Raven!" he shouted and grabbed her other wrist, yanking her. "What took you so long? Jeez, I should totally fine you a fee! Actually, never mind the fine. Come with me, will ya?"

At that, he ran off with Raven, leaving the others behind.

"H-hey! Wait for us!" Pearl shouted, running after the two. "HEY!"

Jun dragged Raven through the crowds, apparently knowing where he was going. He dragged her into an area where there weren't too many people, and what appeared to be the entrance to the Battle Frontier.

A girl wearing a white hat and a pink scarf stood there, along with a shorter boy wearing a red hat and a red scarf. The two's faces both lit up when they saw Jun and Raven, and they rushed over to them.

The girl threw her arms around Raven's neck, hugging her tightly. "Raven! It's been so long! I've missed you so much! We all have, actually!"

Raven hugged the girl back as well. "Yeah, I've missed you guys too!"

"Okay, enough, enough!" Jun snapped and yanked Raven out of the hug. "Anyways, look here!"

He pointed at the entrance, where a guy with a red afro and a spiky-haired blonde guy stood, seeming to be intentionally blocking the entrance.

"So, so! I was wanting to get into the Battle Frontier, right? Yeah, yeah. Then these two bozos came out of nowhere and started blocking the entrance to it! And now they're telling me that they want to test me to see if I'm good enough and all that. Like, as if I need to prove anything. But they won't let me through. And," Jun paused, taking in a breath and pointing at the other two kids with scarves. "And neither of these two will battle with me, and Angie isn't here right, and," he pointed back at the two at the entrance, "These two won't battle me unless I have a partner to battle with. So! Raven, let's team up! Get it, got it, good!"

The girl sighed. "Jeez, Jun! Raven just got here and you're already throwing this at her? And, Flint and Volkner didn't come out of nowhere, they were already blocking the entrance when we arrived! By the way, Raven, didn't you say you were coming with your friends?"

"Huh…? Oh, yeah," Raven said and nodded. "But Jun pulled me away from them as soon as we got off the boat, so I don't know where they are."

"JUN!"

Jun sighed, shaking his head. "Dawn, Dawn. It's not a big problem. They'll find us eventually. Anyways, Raven! Let's battle!"

"Oh, okay. Sure, I'll do it."

Dawn sighed. "Raven, you're acting way too calm for this situation. And Lucas… Lucas, hey!" Dawn said and began snapping in the shorter boy's face. "Lucas, pay attention. You're falling asleep standing up."

"Sorry…" he said and yawned. "I'm not used to waking up this early…"

The guy with the afro at the entrance began laughing. "Well! This situation just cooks! The drama and tension sizzles! Flint, the fiery master of fire Pokémon, is going to put you to the test! Let Flint see how hot your spirit burns!"

Raven looked at Jun in confusion. "Why's this guys referring to himself in the third person?"

"Yeah, I dunno," Jun said and shrugged. "Anyways! Flint! Volkner! This here is my good friend, and she and I are totally going to whoop your asses! Oh, Raven, by the way, Flint's an Elite Four member and Volkner's a Gym Leader."

"You know, that would've been nice to mention first," Raven said.

"It doesn't matter! Come on, come on! Let's get started already, I hate waiting!"

The blonde, named Volkner, began shaking his head. "I'm not quite sure how I managed to get myself into this but… Show me the skills that got you into the Pokémon League!"

Jun tossed a Poké Ball into the air. "Go, Infernape!"

As he shouted that, a monkey-like Pokémon with a flame on its head came out of the ball. It jumped to stand next to its trainer, taking a fighting stance while it was at it.

"Oh, hey, Infernape, this here is Raven! She's my buddy!" Jun said to his Pokémon, who acknowledged Raven with a nod.

Meanwhile, Flint and Volkner both let out their own Pokémon; Flint letting out a black, dog-like Pokémon with horns on its head and Volkner letting out a blue, lion-like Pokémon.

"Ohhh, they're send out Houndoom and Luxray!" Jun said and grabbed Raven by her shoulders. "Come on, send out your Pokémon! Stop being so slow, hurry it up! Send out your starter Pokémon, actually. Send it out, now!"

"Right, right!" Raven said, pushing herself away from Jun and letting out her own Pokémon. "Go, Piplup!"

A tiny, blue penguin Pokémon came out.

"Are you kidding me!" jun shouted, grabbing Raven yet again and shaking her. "A PIPLUP? YOU'RE SENDING OUT A PIPLUP?"

"You just _told_ me to send out my starter Pokémon, didn't you?" she snapped.

"BUT!" Jun began and stopped shaking her. "I thought you lived in Hoenn, so I thought you'd have a Hoenn starter… But never mind! You're sending out a little Pokémon like that in a battle like this?"

"You _told_ me-"

"I don't care!"

Flint began laughing again. "If you two keep arguing, we'll never be able to battle!"

"Yeah, what that guy said," Jun said, nodding.

Raven sighed. "Well, you started it."

"I did not!" Jun snapped and shook his head. "Anyways! Let's start! Infernape, use Blaze Kick on Luxray!"

"Houndoom, protect Luxray and use Flamethrower!" Flint ordered.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool on Houndoom!"

"Luxray, use Thunder on that Piplup!"

Clearly, the term "taking turns" was unheard of by the Pokémon, as they all attacked simultaneously. However, Infernape was the only one using a physical attack, and thus ran forward and ended up taking all three attacks. The Pokémon crashed to the ground, unconscious.

"Wha-?" Jun began and started shaking Raven around. "You idiot! Your Pokémon attacked mine! Now he's knocked out!"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Raven snapped back. "You shouldn't have ordered a physical attack for your Pokémon then!"

Jun snorted, returning Infernape to its Poké Ball. "Whatever! Flint, Volkner, you guys only got lucky for that Pokémon since Raven here screwed up."

"You were the one who did it!" Raven shouted. However, Jun ignored her, sending out his next Pokémon, a black bird Pokémon.

"Go, Staraptor! Use Wing Attack on either one of those two!" he shouted.

"Piplup, use Dig!"

"And Houndoom, use Flamethrower again!"

"Luxray, Thunder on Staraptor."

As Piplup dug underground, Staraptor flew forward and struck Houndoom with its wings. However, Houndoom blew a powerful flame at Staraptor, and Luxray electrocuted the large bird Pokémon. It crashed to the ground much like Jun's previous Pokémon had, unconscious as well.

"Wha-? Damn it!" Jun shouted. "Raven, you need to work together with me! Got it? Work TO-GE-THER!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'cause I'm really the cause of your Pokémon fainting."

"By the way," Volkner interrupted. "How many Pokémon do we each use?"

"Three!" Jun answered, not even hesitating.

"…Then that means you can only use one last Pokémon."

"…Oh!" Jun gasped, realizing his mistake. "Er… Then, eight! Eight Pokémon each!"

"Dork, trainers can only use six Pokémon each."

Jun began scratching his head crazily. "Oh, damn it! Raven!" He quickly looked at the girl. "You can hold your own against these two, right?"

"Then that would defeat the purpose of a double battle, wouldn't it?"

"Whatever!" Jun said and threw another Poké Ball. "Go, Snorlax!"

A large, black Pokémon came out, scratching its large belly before sitting down on the ground, causing it to shake.

"Snorlax, Focus Punch!"

As the Pokémon began focusing (which was hard to tell, as the Pokémon's eyes were already shut), Flint shouted out another attack for his Pokémon.

"Houndoom, break its focus with Fire Fang!"

"And Luxray, use Charge!" Volkner ordered. "And… hey, wait, where'd that Piplup go?"

Just then, Piplup came out of the ground underneath Houndoom, slamming into the fire type and knocking it backwards. It toppled over, unconscious.

Luxray had already begun charging electricity, and wasn't able to attack Snorlax, who now pulled back its fist and punched Luxray. The Pokémon flew backwards, skidding to a stop before it also fell unconscious.

"Yeah, how's that?" Jun shouted, jumping around happily. "How's them apples?"

"Go, Flareon!" Flint said, sending out his next Pokémon, a small, orange Pokémon with a lighter orange mane and tail.

"And I'll go with Jolteon, then," Volkner said, throwing his Poké Ball and letting out a bright yellow Pokémon with a spiky behind.

"Snorlax, pick up Piplup and then use Earthquake!"

Like its trainer order, Snorlax picked up Piplup, set him on top of its head, and then jumped up, slamming back down on the ground and causing a powerful quake. Both Flareon and Jolteon fell over from the attack, which seemed to have been more powerful than it felt for them, as the two both weakly fell unconscious.

"Hey, is something like that even allowed?" Flint asked, looking at Piplup on top of Snorlax's head.

"Well, we never made any rules, so everything goes, I guess," Volkner answered. "But anyways… Go, Electivire!"

"And Magmortar, I choose you!"

The two sent out their next Pokémon; Magmortar a large, orange and red Pokémon with a cannon for a hand and Electivire a large, yellow Pokémon with two black, tail-like things and a nose that looked like an electrical outlet.

"Okay, Raven!" Jun said and looked at her. "I'll leave it up to you to protect Snorlax, right?"

"Of course!" she answered, nodding. "Piplup, use Whirlpool on either of those Pokémon!"

"Snorlax, use Focus Punch on either of them!"

"Alright, then!" Flint said and pointed at Snorlax. "Magmortar! Avoid Piplup and attack Snorlax with Flamethrower!"

"Electivire, you attack Piplup with Thunder Punch," Volkner ordered.

As Snorlax began focusing yet again, Piplup quickly created a whirlpool and tossed it at the two opposing Pokémon. Electivire pulled back its fist, which began sparking with electricity, and charged forward, punching the whirlpool and destroying it. Magmortar aimed its cannon arm at Snorlax and fired a flame at it. However, Piplup jumped in front of the flame, taking the attack intended for Snorlax.

At that, Snorlax then moved, punching Electivire on the head. The Pokémon fell to the ground, but managed to push itself back up.

Jun looked at Raven and they both nodded at each other. "Alright! Snorlax, pick up Piplup and throw him!"

"And Piplup, use Drill Peck once you're thrown!" Raven shouted.

"An attack combo, huh?" Volkner said and looked at Flint. "Then we'll use our own attack combo! Electivire, use Thunderbolt!"

"And Magmortar, combine your Flamethrower with Electivire's Thunderbolt!"

Snorlax picked up Piplup and threw the penguin at the other two, who'd already launched their attack; Electivire's Thunderbolt being spiraled around by Magmortar's Flamerthrower.

Piplup sped straight at the attack, spinning quickly and already flying at a high speed from Snorlax's throw. Miraculously, the Pokémon actually managed to slam into the fire/electricity combo and sent it flying back at the Pokémon that launched the attack. It resulted in an explosion for some reason, and once the smoke disappeared, Magmortar, Electivire, and Piplup all lay unconscious.

"…Whoa!" Jun shouted and began shaking Raven around. "That was AWESOME! Did you see that? We… We won! Woohoo!"

"Yeah, and my Piplup's probably dead," she mumbled, taking out Piplup's Poké Ball and returning it. Flint and Volkner also returned their own Pokémon, both in awe at their own loss.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Volkner said, elbowing the speechless Flint. "Look, even Mr. Talkative here in speechless."

"…" Flint said. No, wait, he said nothing.

"On the other hand, we seem to have attracted a crowd…" Volkner said, motioning to the crowd that had gathered as the result of their battle. "Battle's over, people, you can stop crowding around now…"

"That…" Flint muttered. "That was… That was totally a hot battle! Yeah!"

"Annnnnd, he's back," Volkner mumbled.

"Well, yeah, it was awesome!" Jun said happily, returning Snorlax to its Poké Ball. "It was our teamwork, right, Raven?"

"Um… sure?"

Volkner looked at the two young trainers. "Well, you two were fighting in the beginning, and I was pretty sure you would lose since you were doing that… But in the end, you two suddenly stopped that and worked together. Impressive."

"Yeah, duh!" Jun said, now nodding a lot. "So, you guys are gonna let us through now, right?"

"Uh, no."

"What? Why not? We battled you?"

"Yeah…" Volkner began slowly. "But we never said we'd let you through if you beat us."

"Wha… what…?" Jun said and fell to the ground. "That's totally not fair! My dad's a Frontier Brain, so you should totally let me through!"

Volkner shook his head. "Sorry. But Palmer specifically told us not to let anyone through until he said so. Not even his own son is allowed through."

"That sucks! Damn it!" Jun whined but then suddenly stood up. "Anyways, Raven! We should totally team up at the Battle Frontier! We'll be totally unstoppable!"

"And you should totally stop using the word 'totally'," Raven said.

"Totally whatever!"

"..."

Lucas, who had watched the entire battle, was clapping happily. "You guys are awesome!"

"Yeah, weren't we?" Jun asked, ignoring Raven and laughing. "Though I did most of the work. Lucas, take note of my mad skills, okay?"

Raven frowned. "Jun, can I punch you right now?"

"No, denied!" Jun said, shaking his head. "Anyways, Lucas, where'd Dawn go?"

"Um… I think she said she was going to go find Raven's friends. Or something very similar to that. I don't really know…"

"Gah, you're useless!" he said, still shaking his head. "Anyways! How much longer do we have to wait until the Battle Frontier opens? I'm so bored."

Raven sighed, reaching out at patting Lucas's head. "Jun's still as annoying as ever. Anyways, tell me what you guys have been up to lately."

Just as Lucas began telling her, Dawn came out from the crowd of people, walking over to them with Pearl and others in tow. "I found them! Finally…"

"Oh, hey!" Jun shouted and waved. "You're all so slow! Raven and I already finished our battle with Flint and Volkner. Course, they still won't let us through, even though we won…"

Dawn shook her head. "Really, Jun, you're so rude! You didn't even introduce yourself to Raven's friends, and you left them where they were! And Raven, you didn't even seem bothered by it!"

"…Um, because I wasn't?" Raven responded. Dawn reached out and smacked the back of her head. "Ow…"

"Oh, hey, I'm Jun," Jun said, waving slightly at the others. "There, I introduced myself."

Pearl laughed slightly, looking at Dawn. "Wow, you have to put up with worse things than I do."

"Yeah, right?" Dawn answered and the two both started laughing. Jun remained clueless that he was the "thing Dawn had to put up with".

"Anyways, my name's Pearl," Pearl said and then looked back at the other five. "And, from right to left, Brendan, Yellow, Lyra, Gold, and Silver."

"I'm sorry, I was clearly unable of introducing myself," Gold mumbled and Pearl's eyes narrowed at him, at which he began smiling innocently. Which still managed to be kind of creepy.

Volkner and Flint were still blocking the entrance when suddenly someone slammed into the back of Volkner, making him trip forward.

"Hey, what the what was that?" the person who ran into shouted loudly. He was also blonde, and wore a long, dark green coat.

"Oh!" Jun suddenly said and looked up happily. "Daddy?"

He then slapped a hand over his own mouth and looked behind himself at the others, who all looked at him while clearly trying to hold back their laughter. Except for Lyra, who didn't bother to cover it up and just started laughing loudly.

"Daddy?" she laughed. "Aren't you too old to be call your dad 'daddy'?"

"S-shut up, squirt!" he snapped and shook his head. "I meant Dad! Not Daddy! That was an unfortunate slip of words!"

"Sure it was."

"Ugh…" Jun grumbled and turned back to his father. "Anyways, Dad!" he continued, emphasizing 'Dad'. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, except the totally grand opening of the Battle Frontier!" his father shouted, pointing to the sky (where there was nothing.) "We've just been preparing things and getting ready and all that stuff. We're having the opening ceremony at my very own Battle Tower! And since I'm such a nice guy, I figured I'd let you all get in a couple of minutes early before we let the crowds in."

"Yeah, that's awesome!" Jun answered happily. "Hey, Dad, you totally missed me and Raven's totally awesome battle against Flint and Volkner! We totally beat them!"

"Hm?" his father began and squinted at the other people who were with Jun. "Hey… It's Raven! Hey, kid, I thought you were in Hoenn! Oh, hey, come on, get inside first, all of you!"

Pearl quickly whispered to Raven, "Who's that guy?"

"That's Jun's dad."

"Really, I never would've guessed," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "His name, what's his name?"

"Palmer."

Pearl then smiled as they walked by Jun's father, Palmer. "Thank you, Mr. Palmer!" she said happily.

"Not a problem, missy!"

Raven looked back at Pearl. "So, politeness is a priority on your list?"

"Oh, shut up," she mumbled.


	3. Chapter Two VS Dahlia and Palmer

Author's Notes: All right, so in this chapter, I've made it so that Scott (you know, that guy from Pokémon Emerald) is also the owner of Sinnoh's Battle Frontier... And I also randomly gave him a last name, which is the last name of his English voice actor from the anime. Also, I sort of changed the use of the Vs. Recorder, as well as added another usage for the points you get...

* * *

Chapter Two

Walking inside the entrance of the Battle Frontier led to a long hall with counters on the left and right. Several people were setting things up in the hall as they walked in. However, as if on cue, all of them stopped and turned towards them.

"Hello! Welcome to the Battle Frontier!"

"Wow… They've already got their greetings down perfectly…" Brendan mumbled.

"Instead of that, don't you think the fact that they all answered at the same exact time creepy?" Raven mumbled back.

"We're sorry, but we're currently setting everything up right now," they all said. "Please return after the opening ceremony to receive your Frontier Passes. Until then, please head to the Battle Tower." They all looked towards the end of the hall. "It is the tall building up north.

"Okay, make them stop that," Raven said as they continued walking through the hall and out the exit.

They were back outside again, yet the area had changed considerably from outside. The ground was paved, several stands were set up, and there were five sets of stairs that led up to a second level. Up north was a tall building that looked remotely normal compared to the other building. There was a building that looked vaguely like the head of a Prinplup, a building that looked like a castle, a building with brightly colored flashing domes, and a pink tent-like building. Several buildings were placed between them.

"So, which one do you think it the Battle Tower?" Lyra asked.

"I'm guessing…" Raven began. "The tall, tower-like one."

Everyone else sighed.

People were hurrying around and still setting things up, particularly at the stalls. As the group walked towards the tower and looked around, they spotted a girl in a pink dress with long, wavy light brown hair.

"Darach, please hurry," she said and let out a sigh.

Jun ran up to her, holding out his hand. "Hello, miss, may I ask what your name is?"

She looked at him for a mere second before sniffing. "A commoner like yourself has no right to know my name," she said curtly.

"…What did you just-?" Jun began, only to be cut off by Dawn, who had proceeded to cover his mouth.

"I'm so sorry," she said, pulling him away. The girl didn't have any reaction, still waiting for whoever she was waiting for.

Once they had begun walking up the flight of stairs leading to the Battle Tower, Dawn finally let go of Jun, who coughed dramatically and fell to the ground.

"Jeez, what was it with that girl anyways?" Jun grumbled. "All I wanted to do was know her name. And what's she do instead?" He paused, taking in a breath and proceeding to imitate the girl. "A commoner like yourself has no right to know my name!"

"Well, think about it," Brendan said. "The way she talked like that, clearly she must've been raised to not give out her name to 'commoners.'"

"So she's a snobby rich girl?" Jun asked.

"Yeah, probably."

They then walked inside the Battle Tower, the inside floor being tiled and the walls white. There were four statues that looked like a person holding a Poké Ball. A T.V. was over on the left side of the room, along with red cushions to sit on, and on the right side of the room were a few benches, a pc, and a map of Sinnoh on the wall.

There were also three red doors at the back of the room, three women standing at a counter in front of the doors.

"So!" Lyra asked, looking up at Jun. "Is this where your 'daddy' works?"

"Yep!" Jun said proudly and then, realizing what she said, glared down at her. "I told you, it was a minor slip-up! I didn't mean to say that!"

"Sureee."

"Enough, you two," Pearl said and walked up to one of the women at the counter. "Excuse me, where does the opening ceremony take place?"

"Please take the elevator in the center," the woman answering, moving out of the way so they could walk by. "Also, the other elevators lead to the same place, but on the left and right sides of building."

"Oh, okay…" Pearl said. The elevator opened automatically once they stepped in front of it, and the group hurried inside, followed by the woman Pearl had talked to. The woman pressed a button on the control pad on the wall and the door shut.

The walls of the elevator were clear, and the group could see themselves moving up in the tower. The ground floor seemed far away as the elevator stopped and the door opened up once again, except on the opposite side of the way they walked in, making the ones at the back of the group jump in surprise.

"Please take a seat wherever you like," the woman said. The elevator had opened up into the seating area of a large arena, which was mostly empty except for people who apparently worked there hurrying around.

The group walked out of the elevator, which closed and began moving again.

"Front row seats!" Jun shouted, running down the aisles to get a seat at the front of the battle arena. Raven, Lucas, Lyra, and Gold followed him eagerly, they being followed not so eagerly by the others.

A boy standing in the middle of the arena was shouting orders at the people who worked there as they all scrambled around like headless chickens. He let out a loud sigh and looked back up at the seating area, spotting Jun and the others.

"Hey, are you guys allowed to be in here?" he shouted.

"No, we broke in here by threatening to violently beat the workers with bananas!" Lyra shouted back.

The boy frowned. "What?"

"We were going to beat the workers violently with bananas if they didn't let us in!" she shouted again.

The boy turned around, ignoring her, and continuing ordering the workers around.

Raven looked at Lyra. "That was quick thinking. I never could've thought like that."

Just then, the elevator doors opened again, although two others ones on the left and right side also opened. People poured into the arena, hurrying to sit down. More and more people began coming into the arena, and Raven noticed that a lot of them looked like reporters.

Turning her attention back to the battle field, she noticed that other people were coming into it; specifically, a woman with crazy, black hair and tan skin came walking out to the center of the stage, twirling around a couple of times before stopping to talk to the boy who'd been ordering people around earlier.

Just then, a kid walked up to where they sat and took a seat next to Raven, who'd only had Jun sitting on the right of her. Raven frowned, but said nothing.

"Oh, hey, Angie!" Jun said happily, waving at the blue haired trainer. "Took you long enough!"

"How… was… I… supposed… to know… where you went?" the kid, Angie, huffed. "You totally left me behind! I told you to wait for me while I called my parents!"

"Yeah… Sorry 'bout that!" he said. "Oh, Raven, this is Angie! We met her not too soon after we started our journey. She ran away from home."

"Ran away from home?" Raven asked. "I've done that multiple times! Awesome!"

Angie and Raven high-fived each other and Jun sighed. "I knew you two'd get along together… And there's that girl again!" he snapped, jabbing his finger at the center of the field.

Sure enough, the girl in pink from earlier had walked out to the middle of the field, a young man in a suit following behind her obediently. They joined the boy and the tan woman already there, the girl appearing to say something to them. Another woman, this one with short, purple hair and a maroon outfit, also came out to join the group. And then, of course, Palmer came out to join the group last, although not without nearly running the group over.

Then a short, chubby man with brown hair and sunglasses on walked out as well, tapping something on his shirt and turning forward to face the crowd.

"Welcome, everyone, the official grand opening of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier!" the man announced loudly. The crowd began clapping, and once they quieted down, he continued speaking. "Some of you may recognize me, but for those of you who don't, my name is Scott Rogers. Now, many of you have heard of the Battle Frontier in the Hoenn region, I'm sure, and due to its immense popularity, we've made one here in Sinnoh too. The one here has a few different facilities than the one in Hoenn, so I encourage you to also travel to Hoenn and participate at that one too! Now, I'll introduce our Frontier Brains and let them give a short explanation of the facility they run."

Palmer stepped forward. "Hello everyone, my name's Palmer and I run this here Battle Tower! The objective? Just keep winning and don't lose! Who knows, win enough times in a row and you'll even battle me!" he shouted. The crowd began cheering excitedly as Palmer stepped back into the row of the other people.

The boy then stepped forward. "My name is Thorton and I run the Battle Factory. The Battle Factory runs differently from my companions' facilities in that you don't use your own Pokémon to battle; you use rental Pokémon. The Battle Factory tests your knowledge of unfamiliar Pokémon and your ability to use them." He then stepped back in line. "That's all."

The crowd clapped once again, stopping once the tan skinned woman stepped forward. "Hi everyone! My name is Dahlia, and I'm in charge of the Battle Arcade! There, luck takes a big part in your challenge! Every time before your battle starts, the roulette randomly chooses an event to happen; whether it may be poisoning you or your opponent's Pokémon, or raising or lowering you or your opponent's Pokémon's level! Hopefully, you'll be very lucky!" she said, ending her speech with a wink and stepping back as the crowd applauded.

Next, the young man and the girl stepped forward together. However, the man did all the talking. "My name is Darach, and this is my mistress, Lady Caitlin. We are in charge of the Battle Castle. It is there that you collect Castle Points, or CP, from battling, and you must manage your CP wisely if you intend to win enough to face us." He and the girl then stepped back as the crowd yet again cheered.

Finally, the woman in maroon stepped forward. "Welcome, everyone, my name is Argenta. My Battle Hall allows trainers to mount challenges with their one favorite Pokémon. That's correct, you may only use one Pokémon to battle. Battle others with their own single Pokémon and show everyone how fabulous your Pokémon is." She stepped back and the crowd clapped once again, stopping once Scott began talking yet again.

"And those are our Frontier Brains! So now, just to give everyone a taste of our Frontier Brains' abilities, we'll have a demonstrative battle!"

At that, Jun suddenly pushed Raven over the edge of the seating area, causing her to fall down into the arena area on her face. Scott looked at her, a quite flash of annoyance on his face, before he said…

"And it looks like we have a volunteer battler! Anyone want to join her?"

Jun then jumped down, pulling Raven up. "That's right, I will! The two of us will battle!"

"Very well!" Scott said and looked back at the Frontier Brains. "Dahlia, Palmer, care to battle these two?"

Dahlia eagerly nodded, as well as Palmer, and the two walked to stand at one of the battle fields sides. Jun and Raven hurried over to the other side, and Scott and the other Frontier Brains stepped back and stood near the wall.

"All right, you two, what're your names?" Scott asked.

"I'm Jun!"

"My name's Raven…"

"Right! In that case, Jun and Raven will be battling Dahlia and Palmer! You four will only use one Pokémon, got it?" Scott asked. "So… start!"

Dahlia quickly took out a Poké Ball and gave it a quick kiss before throwing it in the air, letting out a dark, ghostly creature. "I'll choose Dusknoir!"

Palmer also threw his own Poké Ball, letting out a large, yellow dragon Pokémon. "I'll go with Dragonite!"

Jun looked at Raven quickly and they both nodded, throwing their Poké Balls. "We'll choose Infernape and Piplup!"

"Dusknoir, please use Shadow Punch!" Dahlia shouted.

"Dragonite, use Aqua Tail on Infernape!"

"Gah, Infernape, use Shadow Claw on Dusknoir!"

"And Piplup, just do whatever you feel like doing."

Jun grabbed Raven and shook her around. "What do you mean 'just do whatever you feel like doing'? It's a Pokémon battle, give an order to your Pokémon you dope!"

For some reason, the crowd found this amusing and began laughing. Raven and Jun realized they thought they were joking and played along with them.

"Oops, silly me, I made a mistake!" Raven said and knocked on her head. "Piplup, use Drill Peck!"

Dusknoir was suddenly in front of Piplup then, and punched the tiny penguin Pokémon, its fist looking more like a shadow. Piplup tumbled backwards, stopping only because Raven managed to catch him.

Dragonite then attacked next, it tail having water spiral around it as it slammed its tail into Infernape. Infernape winced from the attack, but focused on making a move towards Dusknoir.

It raised its hand, shadows turning into long claws, which Infernape then used to slash at Dusknoir. Dusknoir then attacked on its own, without an order from its trainer, which was throwing some kind of object at Infernape. It collided with the fire monkey's head and it fell to the ground in pain, the object thrown landing on the ground next to it.

An iron ball.

Piplup looked at it and gulped, shaking his head quickly but launching himself at Dragonite, spinning around quickly and stabbing the dragon with his peck.

"Now use Whirlpool, Piplup!"

"Dragonite, use Aqua Tail on Infernape again!"

"And Dusknoir, use Will-o-wisp on that Piplup, please!"

Dragonite slammed its tail into Infernape yet again, this time managing to knock it unconscious. Piplup then threw a whirlpool at Dragonite, not doing much damage to the dragon Pokémon.

Dusknoir had surround itself with several little blue flames, which all moved from around the ghost Pokémon to surround and collide with Piplup, leaving him with small little burns marks all over him.

Jun returned Infernape and put a hand on Raven's shoulders. "I leave the rest of this up to you, brother."

Raven frowned and looked forward. "Fine… Piplup, use Dig, and then Bubble Beam!"

Piplup quickly dug underground while Dragonite and Dusknoir both attempted to attack, missing their intended target. Piplup jumped out of the ground behind Dusknoir and fired a stream of bubbles at the ghost Pokémon.

"Shadow Punch, Dusknoir!"

"Dragonite, use Iron Tail!"

Piplup was no match for the two incoming Pokémon, first being punched and then hit with an iron tail. The little penguin fell to the ground, unconscious.

"And there we have it!" Scott announced and the crowd began cheering again. Raven returned Piplup to his Poké Ball in disappointment, Jun shaking his head. "Did you see that, everyone? Our Frontier Brains took care of those two in less than 5 minutes!"

As the crowd murmured excitedly among each other, Jun and Raven hurried back to where they'd jumped down (or in Raven's case, fallen down) from, climbing up the wall and back into their seats, where they were glared at by Dawn and Pearl.

"I hope you all enjoyed the demonstration battle, and I hope that you'll all enjoy the Battle Frontier! Who knows, maybe you can all challenge yourselves to see how fast you can defeat the Frontier Brains! Which reminds me of something very important that I almost forgot!" Scott said. He reached into his pocket and took out a small machine.

"This machine here is called a Vs. Recorder. After this, if you would all head back to the main entrance, you'll all receive one and it will be updated into a Frontier Pass, which will keep track of points you gain from taking the challenges! Of course, it can be used for much for than just keeping track of points and letting you into the Battle Frontier! If you all may have noticed, there are hotels and shops located here as well. Instead of using money, you can use the points you've earned instead to buy things! Of course, if you don't have any points you'll have to pay with money… But all the more reason to take part in the facilities!

"That's all for now, everyone! Please enjoy your stay!" Scott ended. People began getting up and leaving, the room becoming filled with chatter. The Frontier Brains and Scott began leaving the place as well, although not without being swarmed by reporters.

"Well then, I guess we'll all go get Frontier Passes, right?" Pearl asked. Dawn nodded but then looked around in confusion.

"Oh great! It looks like Jun already left with Raven, Lucas, Angie, and Gold…"

Silver let out a sigh. "I had hoped that Gold would've stopped that by now… But he hasn't. Always going on ahead as usual."

"Well, I guess we might as well hurry before it gets too crowded, which I'm sure it already is," Dawn said and the group got up, leaving the arena.


	4. Chapter Three

Author's Notes: Darn, this chapter was really long... I didn't mean for it to be like that though. I threw in a little in-game joke in here (involving the Battle Tower) as well as what exactly people in the Pokémon eat if they were to eat a hamburger. Seriously though, what Pokémon do they eat? Do they eat Pokémon or are there unseen cows?

But anyways... Onward with the chapter.

* * *

Chapter Three

"Hm…" Jun muttered, looking over the little machine he'd gotten from the main entrance. They'd had the machines in different colors, and of course he'd gotten orange.

"Once you begin taking challenges and winning, you'll be awarded points, which you can check on the Vs. Recorder. It can also record your battles and, like Mr. Scott said, you can use the points instead of money," the worker who'd given it to him said. "If you need to know anything else, don't hesitate to ask one of us!"

"Oh, right, thanks," Jun said and began looking around the crowded room for Raven. He spotted the short trainer, who was still talking to one of the workers. "Raven!"

She looked up and spotted him, waving slightly before she thanked the worker and hurried to him, holding up her own Vs. Recorder, which was red. "Look! Aren't these things so cool?"

"Yeah, yeah, but anyways! Let's start making challenges!" he shouted and the two began cheering, running out of the building outside. The two hurried up a flight of stairs, looking around at all the buildings. "Which one should we do first?"

"I don't know about you, but I liked the way the Battle Hall sounds," Raven said happily. "I think I'd like to use Guru-n there."

"…Who's Guru-n?"

"Oh yeah, I didn't introduce you to any of my Pokémon yet!" Raven said and reached for her Poké Balls, pressing the buttons on all of them. "Here they are!"

Piplup came out first, puffing out his chest proudly. Next came a Pokémon a bit taller than him, which was purple and had a pink thing hanging off the top of it. The next Pokémon was a Pokémon taller than Raven, with the lower part of its body white and the upper half green. Then it was back to small Pokémon, the next ones all small, from one that was white and pink and floating, to a metal one with only one eye, it also floating. And finally there was a tiny yellow mouse Pokémon.

"From left to right, Piplup, Cherrim, Guru-n, Chao, Magnemite, and Pichu. I also have a Snorunt, but he's in the storage system right now.

"Wow, you caught all of these?" Jun asked in awe, looking at all the Pokémon. Cherrim suddenly began glowing and it changed shape and color, turning into a yellow faced Pokémon with several pink petals and was looked like a pink dress. "Oh, the Cherrim changed!"

"It's sunny out today, huh?" Cherrim asked and looked up at the sky. Sure enough, the sun was out and there were puffy white clouds in the sky. "Yay!"

Jun suddenly looked even more surprised when Cherrim spoke. "Oh… It's a boy! The Cherrim's a boy!"

"They're all male except for Chao and Magnemite," Raven said. "Although I really don't know what gender Magnemite is."

After Jun took his time looking at each Pokémon carefully, he stood back, crossing his arms and nodding.

"This is impressive, Raven… I never thought that you'd manage to get such cool Pokémon… But while I'm at it, here are my Pokémon!" Jun said and let out his Pokémon too; Infernape, Staraptor, Snorlax, and three other Pokémon Raven hadn't seen yet, which were an orange, weasel-like Pokémon, a green Pokémon with roses for hands, and a blue, beetle-like Pokémon.

"Alright guys, this here is Raven and her Pokémon!" Jun said. "And Raven, this is Infernape, and Staraptor, and Snorlax, and Floatzel, and Roserade, and Heracross!"

As Jun's Pokémon greeted Raven and her Pokémon, Jun continued talking. "Anyways, you should totally ask Lucas and Dawn to see their Pokémon later. 'Course, they aren't as awesome as mine, but they're still pretty good."

Raven carefully looked at Jun's Pokémon, patting each one on the head. After she'd done that to all of them, she crossed her arms. "You're Pokémon are also awesome… I never thought that you'd manage to get such cool Pokémon."

"Hey, you're copying what I said to you!" Jun snapped.

"Yeah, so?"

"That's not fair! Come up with your own lines!"

Just as Raven got ready to say something back, she stopped. She sensed the presence of something evil… Something angry… Jun began shaking his head, signaling for her to not turn around. Yet, she still turned around.

And was met with the sight of Dawn, arms crossed over her chest, looking at them with a frown.

"Oh… Hi, Pikari!"

Dawn reached out and began pinching Raven's cheeks. Jun gulped and started running, only to be caught by Dawn, who had dragged Raven with her, still pinching her cheek. She then pinched Jun's cheeks, and listened to them both begging for mercy.

"Pweaze, pweaze! Wet go, wit hurts! Wi'm sowwie!"

Somehow, Dawn managed to understand their pleas and let go of them. "There, that's what you get for jumping down in the arena."

Raven rubbed her poor cheek. "But Jun pushed me down in there first, so why should I get hurt?"

"Because you called me Pikari. I told you to stop that, it doesn't make sense at all to anyone else."

"It makes sense if they knew why we call you that."

"But they don't know, so stop!" Dawn crossed her arms back over her chest. "Come on, we're going to go get a hotel room now. Unless you want nowhere to sleep."

"We're wild, we sleep out in the wild!" Jun and Raven shouted.

"No, thank you!" Piplup snapped and hurried over to Dawn, jumping onto her shoulder. "Please, save us!"

"I'll save the Pokémon, but Raven and Jun can do whatever they want. How's that sound?"

All the Pokémon cheered as Dawn began walking away with the Pokémon following her.

"…On second thought, I don't want to stay outside!" Raven shouted, racing after Dawn.

"Me neither!" Jun whined, following them.

They had hurried to one of the hotels and got a room, which was up on the third floor. Once the group got into the room, a majority of them began jumping on the two beds in the room.

The room itself was pretty big. There was a bathroom, a small area to hang clothes, and the already mentioned two beds. A T.V. sat on a long wooden dresser in front of the beds.

Pearl sighed. "Man, just one room was expensive enough… But there isn't enough room for all of us…"

Raven, who was one of the ones jumping on the beds, stopped. "Then why don't you sleep outside?"

"No, why don't _you_ sleep outside?"

"Ah, touché."

"So, everyone, listen up!" Pearl shouted, getting everyone's attention. "We all need to gather up points from participating in the facilities to pay for things, okay? We need only 2 points to pay for this one room for a whole day. So do the math. If we stay in this room for a week, how many points will we need?"

"Um… 7!"

"3."

"9?"

"The correct answer is 5," someone said in a British accent.

"Enough!" Pearl snapped, shaking her head. "Jeez, you guys suck at math!"

"Hey, no need to throw insults around."

"We need 14 points!" Pearl continued, ignoring the previous remark. "And if we wanted to get two rooms, we'd need 28 points for a week. Got it?"

Raven raised her hand. "Teacher, how much actual money does this cost?"

Pearl covered her face dramatically. "Never mind! You're too young to be told!"

"By the way," Gold said and raised his head. "Pearl, who died and left you in charge?"

"You wanna sleep outside on the ground?"

"No, thank you. Not like I haven't already done that though…"

"Anyways," Pearl said. "Everyone, let's get out there and battle!"

"Yeah!"

* * *

After Pearl and Dawn worked together to make a plan (which Jun heavily protested again), it was decided who would challenge what.

Raven and Jun would challenge the Battle Tower.

Angie, Gold, and Silver would challenge the Battle Factory.

Yellow and Lucas would challenge the Battle Stage.

Brendan and Lyra would challenge the Battle Arcade.

And Pearl and Dawn would challenge the Battle Castle. ("Why?" Jun asked. "Because we know how to manage things better than you do.")

Pearl theorized that if they at least won one round, they would have enough points to pay for a room for a week.

And so, they all split up to take on their respective challenge.

"So, the two of us will do the single battle challenge, okay?" Jun asked. He and Raven were sitting in the Battle Tower lobby, discussing their plans. "Are you sure you'll be fine without me to back you up?"

"I should be saying that to you," Raven grumbled. "I'll be fine, I'll be fine."

"Then I'll go ahead first! See ya!" he yelled, running off towards the Battle Tower attendants.

For some reason, Raven got the idea that the Battle Tower had a million workers, because there were many people lining up to take the challenge. Yet, each person walked away into an elevator with an attendant, and the second the doors closed and the elevator moved, another elevator came and took its place, an attendant coming out.

Raven slowly got up and walked over to one of the attendants.

"Welcome to the Battle Tower!" she said. "I am your guide to the Multi Battle Rooms. Would you like to take the Multi Battle Room Challenge?"

"Huh? Um… sure?"

"Would you like to communicate with a friend and form a tag team?"

"Communicate? Er… no."

"Please select the Pokémon you wish to enter."

Raven took out Piplup and Cherrim's Poké Balls. "These two."

"Would you like to save the game?"

"What?"

"Sorry, that was an inside joke," she said and motioned to the elevator. "I will now show you to the Battle Salon."

Raven hurried to stand next to the attendant in the elevator. The attendant pressed a button and the doors shut, the elevator beginning to move. It stopped and the attendant walked out of it with Raven in tow.

"Please find a partner from the trainers that are gathered here… Oh, wait," she said and looked around at the empty room. "There appears to be no one here. Would you like to wait for a trainer?"

"Um… sure, I guess…"

The attendant pointed over a window; beyond that, there were bookshelves. "While waiting, you may feel free to check out the books in our library. If you happen to find someone there that you'd like to battle with, please come and tell me."

"Okay…" Raven mumbled. Seeing as how the woman remained standing there with a smile on her face, she began walking in the direction of the library, turning around ever once in a while to see if the woman was still standing there. She was, of course.

Raven began looking at books that were already opened. One of them had its page open to something about legendary Pokémon, and she stopped to look at its pages.

"_Jirachi, the Wish Pokémon. It's said to awaken for seven days once every thousand years, with the ability to grant any wish asked of it. It is truly a Pokémon of which dreams are made. In combat it uses its wish power to attack. Its attack, Doom Desire, which causes light to rain down from the heavens to do tremendous damage, is especially powerful._"

To go along with that description was a picture of the Pokémon, which was white and yellow with blue, tag-like things on its head.

"_Shaymin, the Gratitude Pokémon. It lives in flower patches and avoids detection by curling up to look like a flowering plant. When the Gracidea flower is in bloom, its pollen allows Shaymin to change into its Sky Forme from its Land Forme._"

Raven frowned and look to the right of her, where a girl was standing next to her, reading aloud of her own book.

The girl pointed at the picture of the Pokémon whose description she just read; a small green Pokémon with pink flowers.

"This Pokémon…" the girl said in a voice so quiet Raven could barely hear it. "I like it."

She then blinked once, looking at Raven. "Are we…"

"…thinking of the same thing?" Raven completed and nodded.

"Tag-team battle."

And the two hurried off to tell the attendant woman, who was still standing there, looking forward with a smile.

* * *

"You have cleared your seventh match! Congratulations!" an attendant in green said to Jun. "In honor of your talent, we present you BP!"

"BP?" Jun asked as he handed the attendant his Vs. Recorder. "Oh, you mean the points."

"Yes, that's correct. You've been given 3 BP," the attendant said and handed it back to him. "Here at the Battle Tower, we reward you with a normal amount of points."

"What? This is a normal amount?" Jun exclaimed. "Man, I can pay for my own room with this…"

"Is that so?" the attendant asked and motioned towards the door. "Well, I'll now bring you back to the first floor…"

They once again took the elevator to the first floor of the building. Once they were there, Jun immediately spotted Raven.

"Hey, Raven, you finished your battles too?" Jun shouted and ran over to her. He then noticed that she was talking with another girl, who had black hair and wore a black outfit with a white ribbon in her hair.

"Hm? Yeah, I did," she said, nodding. "With Marley's help, of course!"

"Marley…?" he asked and looked at the girl, who stared at him blankly. "Oh, so you mean you went and did the double battles?"

"Yeah."

"Well, whatever!" Jun said, dropping the subject and running towards the exit. "Come on! We're supposed to meet up back at the hotel, remember?"

"Roger that, captain!" Raven shouted and began running after him. She stopped and looked back at Marley. "Wanna come along?"

Marley slowly nodded and began following Raven.

Once they reached the hotel, they saw Yellow, Gold, Silver, Lucas, and Angie already waiting there in the lobby.

"Hey, guys, how'd your challenges go?" Jun asked.

"Fine," they all answered. The three of them sat down in some nearby chairs, joining in on their conversation.

"So, I was wondering…" Yellow began. "Brendan said that Lyra was scary. I haven't noticed anything yet, though, so why'd he say that?"

Gold made a face. "Oh, believe me, she's scary… I mean, haven't you noticed her eyes?"

"…Her eyes?"

"That's right!" Gold said, nodding. When she comes back, just take a look at them… They're completely soulless!"

"…Soulless?"

"That's right! They lack the soul, the emotion, the everything else you see in a person's eyes! And she constantly smiles! A big grin on her face, 24/7! It's creepy!"

"Now that you mention it…" Raven muttered. "Lyra has been smiling all the time… It is kinda creepy, when I think about it…"

"And… She constantly appears out of nowhere…" Gold continued. "Not to mention, she'll insult you out of the blue with that blank, smiley look!"

"Also," Silver began and stood up. "She constantly pairs me and Gold up in the weirdest situations! Like, 'Gold and Silver, stuck in a cupboard on a ship to Cinnabar Island!"

"I don't mind that part!" Gold said and quickly pulled Silver into a hug. "Silver, you just need a big ol' hug, don't you?"

"I do not! Let go of me, people are looking!" he snapped and tried to pull away from Gold, who still held onto his tightly.

"Okay, onto a different subject!" Jun shouted. "I haven't been able to truly enjoy the Battle Frontier because we're being ordered to challenge certain facilities!"

"Yeah!" Raven shouted.

"And so, tomorrow I'm doing whichever challenges I want!"

"Yeah!"

"And we will eat ice cream!"

"YEAH!"

"And, and…" Jun continued before stopping abruptly. "Um… Hey, guys? Isn't that that Lyra girl over there?"

Everyone turned around to see that, sure enough, Lyra was standing nearby, partially behind a fake palm tree, staring at them.

"…How long have you been there?" Jun asked. "And where's that Brendan guy?"

"Well, I've been here for a while," Lyra answered. "As for Brendan…"

Lyra covered her mouth and started laughing quietly. "That's a secret!~"

"So that means we hold Brendan's funeral tomorrow, am I right?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jun agreed, nodding his head. Meanwhile, Gold was now attempting to give Silver a kiss, who was doing his best to keep Gold from doing so.

Just then, as if on cue, Brendan walked into the building with Pearl and Dawn. He spotted Lyra, who was still laughing behind the tree, and then looked over at Gold and Silver.

"…So, are you all having fun?"

"Oh, he's alive!" Raven shouted and Brendan frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing, we just thought Lyra might've killed you."

"…I'm not even going to bother asking."

"Anyways," Pearl began, heading over to where the group sat. "How many points did everyone get?"

"I got three!" Jun shouted.

"I also got three."

"Two for me and Lucas."

"I got five! And so did the two kissing boys."

"I'm not kissing him!"

"Come on, Silver, you know you want it!~"

"I do not! Get off of me!"

"Come on, what's the rest of the points?"

"Uh, I got one point," Brendan answered and Pearl smacked the back of his head.

"That's not good enough!"

"Well, excuse me!"

Lyra looked at Pearl. "I got two."

"Okay, and Dawn and I got three points," Pearl concluded and began mumbling. "So, let's see… That's about 32 points!"

"Yaaayyy," everyone said in their best monotone voices, clapping their hands.

"Come on, show some enthusiasm!"

"Yaaaaaayyyyy."

"Wow, great job, you guys," Pearl said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, who's hungry?"

That managed to get a more enthusiastic reaction out of everyone. "I am!"

"Then let's go! To the restaurant!" Pearl shouted, raising her fist into the air. The group followed her action, jumping up from their seats and running off.

"Wait, do you guys even know where it is?" she snapped, running off after them. "Wait! I said wait, you little rats!"

* * *

After a few minutes of running around the hotel, they finally all gathered in the hotel's restaurant area. Luckily, the food fees were already paid for with the room charge, so it was needless to say that a majority of them were eating as much as they could.

"Mm, this is really good!" Lucas said, a mouth full of food. "Right?"

"Um, sure?" Raven answered, taking a bite out of the piles of fries she got.

"Gee, like fries much?" Jun asked, looking at the piles.

"Almost as much as I like Mudkips."

"…What?"

"Nothing, never mind," Raven mumbled, glancing at his tray of hamburgers, and more hamburgers. "And on the other hand, you like hamburgers much?"

"Almost as much as I like Mudkips."

"Ah, touché."

"Hey, guys?" Lucas asked, looking up at the two. "If there are no cows, then what are hamburgers made of?"

"I dunno, Tauros? Miltank?" Jun answered. "Don't ask rational questions like that, you're hurting my brain."

"Sorry…"

All of a sudden, Marley was sitting next to Lucas, her face mere inches from his.

"…"

Lucas glanced at her unsurely. "Um… can I help you?"

"…" was Marley's answer.

"Clearly, it looks like your friend won't be talking anytime soon," Jun muttered to Raven.

"That's not true."

Jun blinked in surprise before realizing that Marley had spoke. "Oh, so you can talk?"

"It wasn't that I couldn't talk, but rather that I didn't want to," Marley said. Her voice was still as quiet as when she'd talked to Raven earlier. "Furthermore, you shouldn't say things like that in a voice loud enough that the person in question can hear them."

Jun suddenly became flustered at Marley's lecturing and frowned, looking away. "Er, sorry…"

Raven whistled, giving Marley a thumbs-up sign. "Nice going, Marley. You put his in his place."

"…" Marley looked down at the table. "…Sorry."

"No, don't apologize. It's good for him to get talked to like that. That's how he's grows. That, and by eating the hamburgers which we don't know what they're made from."

"…Oh. Okay…"

Raven looked around at the other tables which her friends sat at. There wasn't a table that was big enough for all of them, so they'd all broken up into groups and were sitting at different tables.

She felt someone tugging on her shirt and looked back to see Marley doing so. "…The hamburgers aren't made from Shaymin, are they?"

"Uh, probably not."

"…Good…"

* * *

After they'd all eaten dinner, they managed to get another room for their large group and broke up into two groups for the night. Marley had left the group after telling Raven she had her own room, leaving a total of 11 people to be broken up. And after they'd done the splitting up, they all went to sleep for the night after a very eventful day…


	5. Chapter Four

Author's Notes: A couple of new characters are introduced in this chapter! I personally like this chapter a lot, for some reason...

* * *

Chapter Four

"Hey, wake up, sleepyhead," someone said and promptly smacked Raven with a pillow.

"I don't wanna…" she mumbled, pulling the covers over her head.

"If you don't, I'll send Gold in here to kiss you. He'll kiss anyone, I figured out."

"Do it, I dare you."

"Fine. GOLD! Come over here and give her a kiss!"

"Okay!"

Raven felt someone jumping onto her bed and the covers were pulled off her head. Gold leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Wake up!~"

"Ugh," Raven grunted and sat up, pushing Gold off of herself. "It's too early to be waking up!"

"It's only, like, 10 AM," Pearl answered back. She was tying her hair into pigtails, not noticing that Lyra was sitting next to her doing the exact same thing.

Jun then burst into the room, running over to Raven, who still sat in bed. He began jogging in place, saying, "Come on, come on, come on! Hurry up! Jeez!"

"…Leave me alone."

Jun sighed and grabbed Raven, yanking her out of bed. "Come on, hurry up and change! Hurry! I can't wait!"

"Fine, fine," she said, taking off her pajama shirt and searching around for her regular clothes.

"Hey, hey!" Pearl snapped. "Don't do that in front of everyone! Go in the bathroom and change! And while you're at it, go get yourself some shame!"

"I heard they're selling some by the Battle Tower," Lyra said.

"Selling what?" Pearl asked, looking down at her little cousin.

"Some shame."

Pearl sighed, smacking her forehead.

* * *

After nearly half an hour getting ready, Raven left the hotel with an even more impatient Jun.

"Oh jeez, you're soooo slow! You're just like a… A woman!" he said.

Raven gasped. "I am _not_ a woman! Take that back!"

"You know, you really shouldn't say things like that so loudly and in a public place…" Pearl grumbled.

"So! Today, I'm challenging the Battle Tower again!" Jun shouted loudly. "So? What about you? What're you gonna do, huh? Huh? HUH?"

"You're so loud," Raven complained, rubbing her head. "It's too early for me to wake up. It's too hot out here. And I'm hungry!"

"Stop whining," Pearl sighed. "You want me to buy you something to eat?"

"Yes, auntie, please buy me some food!"

Pearl lightly tapped her head. "Stop talking like that. Here's some money… Wait a sec, you can just buy it yourself, can't you?"

Raven covered her ears. "You're too loud…"

"Oh, just go back inside and get something to eat!"

Raven hurried back inside and Jun let out a sigh. "Jeez, how can you possibly deal with her?"

"…I could say the same about you," Pearl said and Jun looked confused.

"What're you talking about? Nobody has to deal with me!"

"…Right, I forgot," Pearl said, rolling her eyes. Jun didn't seem to notice this and was already running off.

"I'm going to the Battle Tower! See ya!"

Pearl waved at him, letting out a sigh. "I wonder how many times I've already sighed today…"

* * *

Raven had quickly eaten breakfast, or rather, took a bunch of donuts from the buffet and ran out of the building.

She then decided to leave the Battle Frontier to go exploring around. After finding that the east area of the Fight Area was a water route, she decided to head north of the Fight Area: Route 225.

It, much like the rest of the island, was hot, and looked rather tropical, with palm trees everywhere. The grass seemed almost painfully green, and many trainers were there, some already battling one another.

"…It's hot," Raven mumbled, stating the obvious.

She then began making her away along the route, hopping around things and avoiding the sight of trainers; she knew they would hurry up to her and ask to battle, and right now, the last thing she wanted to do was battle. (After all, Jun had forced her into more battles yesterday than she'd ever had in a lifetime. Of course, that's an exaggeration.)

She walked up a flight of stairs and walked over a long, wooden bridge, heading back into the grass and down another flight of stairs. She walked along the walls of one of the many small mountains, again avoiding the sight of the trainers there. She walked up more flights of stairs, across more bridges, and down more flights of stairs.

After walking for at least half an hour, Raven spotted a house ahead. Of course, she wasn't going to walk right on in; that'd be rude, and they'd probably call the police on her.

She sat down against one of the many trees there, taking a rest near the house. After all, if she had a heart attack from walking so much, at least there'd be someone nearby.

Raven shut her eyes, starting to fall asleep in the shade of the trees, which was much better than the heat. Someone then exited the house and Raven heard them walk over to her, but she didn't open her eyes.

"…You dead?"

Raven's eyes opened and she looked up to see a boy with red hair and tan skin standing over her. His hair was tied back into a ponytail and he wore a red shirt and gray pants.

"…I think I am."

"Come on, get up," he said and held out his hand, which Raven grabbed and he pulled her up. "The name's Buck. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Raven," she said.

"So, where you headed?" he asked.

"Um… to the end of the route?"

He started laughing. "That's right to the Survival Area! I'm headed there too, so you wanna go together?"

"Fine with me. At least there'll be a witness to my oncoming death."

"Ah, come on! You won't die, it's a good workout!"

Raven sighed. "Sure, whatever you say…"

And so, they began walking the rest of the way together. After walking along a path on another small mountain and down a flight of stairs, they arrived at the Survival Area, which consisted of a Pokémon Center, a store, and three other small buildings, which were probably houses.

"Welcome to the Survival Area!" Buck said, placing his hands on his hips. "My gramps owns the Battleground, you heard of it?"

"No."

"Oh, you haven't? It's that building right next to the Pokémon Center; you can battle people there!"

"Okay…?"

"Still confused, huh?" Buck asked and laughed yet again. "Well, it's pretty popular with the Gym Leaders, you know. I wonder who's there today…?"

Buck and Raven walked into the building, which was rather dark inside, although there were lights on. And, much to Raven's enjoyment, there was air conditioning. Behind a counter sat a bald old man, who was cooking something on a stove. A T.V. was nearby, the volume turned down low enough that you wouldn't be able to hear it unless you went right up to it.

"Hey, gramps!" Buck shouted, waving at the old man. "Brought a new customer today!"

"Oh, hello, I'll be with you both in a moment…" the old man said, continuing what he was doing.

There were other people there, Raven noticed. A girl with black hair in two braids was laying down on a table, apparently fast asleep. At another table was a boy with red hair and glasses who was apparently messing with his red helmet, fixing the light on it. Finally, there was another boy, sitting by the T.V.. Raven couldn't make out what he looked like very well, but it looked like he was wearing blue.

The old man grabbed a plate and put a sandwich on it, tossing a bunch of fries alongside it. He then put the plate on the counter, shouting, "Roark, here's your order! One grilled cheese and fries!"

The red haired boy, Roark, got up to get the plate. "Thanks, gramps!"

"So…" Buck's grandpa said, leaning on the counter. "Brought us your lady friend, huh?"

"Yep, a lady friend!" Buck said, sitting down at one of the seats in front of the counter. "Come on, sit down," he continued, patting the seat next to him.

As Raven hurried up, Buck took a look around the room. "Let's see… Looks like Candice and Riley are here today? Oh, is Candice asleep?"

"Looks like it," Buck's grandpa said. "She said something about the heat and then she sat down. I guess she must've fallen asleep."

"Yeah, I wanna fall asleep too…" Raven mumbled and let out a yawn.

"So, Buck, what's your lady friend's name?"

"She's Raven," Buck said. "So, Raven, you want gramps to make you anything? He's a real good cook."

"No, I've got some donuts I stole from the hotel," Raven said, seeming to be proud of her actions. "Ohoho."

"Oh, okay then…" Buck said and began talking to his grandpa about something. Meanwhile, with the dark atmosphere and the AC, sleeping seemed to be the number one thing to do on Raven's list…

* * *

Raven began waking to the feeling of someone playing with her arms, moving them back and forth. She heard someone talking, saying:

"Oh, no, please feel free to make yourself at home, Mr. Left!"

"Don't mind if I do, Ms. Right!" said another voice, which Raven was able to recognize as the same voice that mentioned Mr. Left.

Raven opened her eyes, seeing the ceiling instead of the counter. She then realized that her head was in someone's lap. She moved her head slightly to see the girl with the braided hair from earlier.

So it would appear that sometime after that girl herself had woken up, she decided to come over to the sleeping Raven and play with her arms? Okay…

"What are you doing?"

"Good morning," she said. "Or rather, afternoon. I don't know what time it is, actually. But you were asleep, sleepyhead!"

"Oh," was all Raven said. And then, "So, what are you doing to me?"

"Playing a game," the girl answered, puckering her lips for no apparent reason. "With your arms. This is Mr. Left and Ms. Right," she continued, moving Raven's arms around. "Hello!"

Raven pulled herself up, taking her arms back from the girl. She rubbed her head in confusion; she couldn't really remember where she was. That's right, she'd gone to Route 225, met up with Buck, who brought her here…

"Ah, Buck!" Raven exclaimed, looking around. "Where's Buck?"

"He left a while ago," the girl answered. "In fact, you and I are the only ones here right now. The old man also left with him, as well as Roark and Riley. They told me to stay here and watch after the place. And I was bored, so I played with you."

"I see…" Raven mumbled. "Why'd they all leave?"

"They said something about seeing a suspicious person lurking around, so they went to go check it out," she answered. She then grinned. "By the way, my name's Candice! I'm the Gym Leader of Snowpoint City!"

"Really, you are?" Raven asked excitedly. "Then… why are you here?"

"Gym Leaders need to take breaks too, you know!"

"Right…"

Just then, Buck walked into the building, being followed by the other three men. "We're back!"

"I can see that," Raven answered.

"Oh, hey, you're awake!" Buck exclaimed. "Anyways, there was a suspicious person going around, but the four of us went to go take care of it!"

"Yes, but in the end, we didn't find the person," one of the guys, who Raven guessed to be Riley, said, grimacing. "It's not a very good thing… But I wonder where they went? We followed the person, we thought we had him cornered, and then he wasn't there! We didn't see any Pokémon either, so he couldn't have had a Pokémon use Fly…"

"Huh, is that so?" Raven asked and began spinning around in chair. "How very unfortunate…"

"And so, I was wondering, Raven," Buck began, walking over and sitting in the seat right next to her. "Did you come from the Battle Area?"

"No, I came from Hoenn."

Buck seemed to laugh. "That's cool, but that's not what I meant. I meant, did you travel to here from there?"

"Um, yeah?"

"I see… So, were you staying at Battle Frontier?"

"Yeah, why're you asking?"

"No particular reason why…" Buck said. "Just, there was this blonde kid who ran up here, and he was the one who told us about the suspicious person, but he was talking so fast that I couldn't really understand him… But he did say your name, which was why I was wondering."

"Ah, yeah," Raven said, nodding. "That's Jun. He probably wanted me to battle with him or something, but he drove me nuts yesterday, so I'm avoiding him."

"Yeah, he does get on your nerves, doesn't he?" one of the guys, Roark, said.

"Do you know Jun?" she asked, stopping her chair spinning.

"Oh, yeah, he challenged my gym," Roark said. "He was so impatient that he lost the battle on his first try. But eventually, he won. After a bunch of rematches, at least four in the same day."

Raven frowned. "…That must've been annoying."

"Yeah, you bet!" Roark laughed. "So I know what you mean when you say that you're avoiding him. If only I could've done the same…"

"He battled me to death yesterday," Raven whined. "And woke me up this morning, wanting to battle some more. It was annoying…"

Almost as if on cue, Jun suddenly burst into the building. "Hey, I've got a question! Have any of you seen… RAVEN!"

Jun let out a roar as he dove towards Raven, who jumped off the chair and out of his way. "Get back here!" he snapped, beginning to chase her around the small building.

"I don't wanna," she stated as Jun jumped over a table and tackled her.

"Raven, we're supposed to be battling together!" he snapped, starting some kind of wrestling match with her. "You know?"

"I don't wanna!" she whined, pushing his face while he pulled her other arm. "Let go!"

"Only if you promise to battle with me!"

"I don't wanna!"

"Then I'm not letting go!"

Riley was the one to break up their childish fight. "Now, now, you two… Stop fighting."

When neither stopped, both he and Roark went and yanked the two away from each other.

"Battle with me!" Jun demanded.

"Never!"

"You two should totally stop fighting," Candice said. "Besides… this is the Battleground, isn't it? Let's battle each other!"

"You got it!" Jun shouted, taking out a Poké Ball and facing Candice. "Candice, you, me! Let's battle!"

"Alright, go Abomasnow!"

"I choose you, Infernape!"

"…Can I leave?" Raven asked, hiding under a table as Candice and Jun began their sudden Pokémon.

"Feel free to do so at any time," Riley answered.

Raven quickly made a beeline towards the front door, avoiding the two fighting Pokémon. Buck quickly shouted, "Hey, come back tomorrow, okay?"

"Roger that, captain!" Raven answered, running off.

* * *

Oh, I wonder who the mysterious person is? Ohoho, suspense!... Not really. :|

Review, please?


	6. Chapter Five

Author's Notes: Shorter chapter this time, but also gives Gold a bit of a backstory. :3 Yaaaay.

* * *

Chapter Five

Once Raven made it back to the Battle Area, she spotted Gold sitting at the shipping dock. She hurried over to him and sat down next to him.

"Hi!"

He grinned at her. "Hello!"

"What're you doing?"

"Sitting here."

Raven gasped. "No. Way."

Gold also gasped. "Yes. Way."

Neither of them said anything, simply sitting there, looking out at the ocean.

"Hey, Gold?"

"Hm?"

"How do you know Pearl and Brendan?"

"Well, we met when they came to Johto to visit Lyra and for their father to discuss something with Professor Elm… Oh, Professor Elm's the Johto professor, by the way. Let's see… back then, I just liked playing in dirt and climbing trees with my Aipom…"

Seeing as how Raven was looking at him in confusion, he continued.

"But, well, we really met the day I fell out of a tree and landed on top of her."

"You fell out a tree?"

"Yep! Landed right on her!" He began laughing loudly before continuing.

"But anyways… Back then, Brendan's hair was still brown…"

"You mean his hair wasn't always white?"

Gold shook his head. "Nope! For some reason, it started turning white… The same thing happened with his mom's hair… But anyways, what was I saying…? Right, I fell on top of Pearl. And, well, I guess our friendship just came from that. I'm not very sure how though…"

"So, what about Silver?"

"Oh, Silver? Right, right… He stole a Pokémon from Professor Elm, and I made it my personal mission to capture the thief! And that was how I started my own Pokémon journey… So, I met up with Silver several times on that journey, and believe me, he was a real jerk back then. Let's see… Sometime around the time where Team Rocket took control of the Radio Tower…"

He looked at Raven yet again, who seemed even more confused than before.

"Er… Sorry, um, Team Rocket are bad people! You know, like when watch a movie and there's usually villains who stop the main character? Yeah, that's what Team Rocket is. But anyways, they took control of the Radio Tower -that's a big tower in Goldenrod City where they put out things like music and radio programs to be heard on the PokéGear- What, you don't know what a PokéGear is?"

Gold let out a sigh, crossing his legs and tapping his chin. He then held out his left wrist to Raven, showing her the blue watch on his wrist. In truth, it was a lot bigger than a watch. "This thing is a PokéGear. See, look, it can play the radio, which doesn't seem to get a signal here, but it also shows a map and you're current location, as well as the numbers of everyone registered… You can call them, see?"

Raven looked at it in confusion, nodding a few times. "Then… call someone, do it, right now," she said.

"Fine, fine. Let's see… We'll call old man Pryce!" Gold said, touching a few things on the PokéGear's screen.

After a couple of rings, someone answered Gold's call. "Hello…"

"Hey, Pryce, it's me, Gold!"

"Oh, hi, how are you?" the man, Pryce, asked. Raven could tell he was old just by the sound of his voice.

"I'm in the Sinnoh region right now!" Gold said happily. "And I've got my new friend Raven sitting here with me! Come on, say hi to him, Raven!"

"Uh… hello."

"Hello to you too," Pryce said and laughed. "Ah, but you're in Sinnoh now, huh? I've never been there before, but I heard that they too have an ice type Gym Leader… If you meet that trainer, will you tell them that I said hello?"

"Sure thing, Pryce! Anyways, I gotta go! See ya!" Gold said. Pryce also told him good-bye and Gold pressed another button, hanging up the call. "And that's it! Pretty cool, huh?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah, yeah, it is! Anyways, what were we talking about?"

"We were at the part about Team Rocket taking control of the Radio Tower, I think…" Gold said and nodded. "Anyways, they took control of the tower and were sending out broadcasts over the radio trying to call their boss back or something like that. Then, Silver and I teamed up to whoop their asses. After that, he managed to kinda force himself to ask to travel with me. And well, yeah, that's what happened."

He then began grinning again. "And then, we both challenged the Pokémon League and I managed to beat the champion! Although, I'd heard rumors that the real champion was training at some mountain somewhere… But that's besides the point."

"The real champion, huh?" Raven asked and looked at the ocean, trying to imagine what the person would be like. Unfortunately, it was only giving her a really bad headache trying to imagine it.

"But, you know, you're Hoenn's champion as well," Gold said, leaning towards her. "So, like, if we ever met the true champion, we should both battle him, right?"

"Sure… I don't really care…"

"Which reminds me, this year's Sinnoh Pokémon League tournament didn't have a winner…" Gold continued, now just beginning to mumble to himself. "I didn't get to see who the champion that had to be battled was…"

The two heard the familiar shout of a certain blonde trainer and looked up to see Jun charging over to them. "Ravennnnn!"

"Gold, save me!" she screamed and grabbed onto Gold.

Jun didn't stop running and simply charged into Raven. However, considering that they were on the edge of the dock, Jun fell off, grabbing Raven by her shirt and pulling her and Gold down into the ocean with him.

Someone must've noticed that the three had fallen into the ocean, because in a quick moment they were all out of the water, but at the same time, not on the dock.

"Jun, you idiot!" Raven whined, rubbing her eyes and coughing. She hated salt water… "Stupid, stupid!"

"Oh, shut up! You're the stupid one!" Jun snapped. "You don't go somewhere without telling them, stupid! Dork!"

Gold seemed to be the only one that wasn't saying anything; rather, he had noticed that they were on the back of a Pokémon, which the other two had yet to notice.

"Hey, guys! We're on a Pokémon!" Gold exclaimed, stating the obvious.

The other two looked down in surprise, seeing that they were all on the back of a long, tan Pokémon. The end of the serpentine-like Pokémon were blue scales, while two red things hung from the Pokémon's head.

Then they all looked up at the dock to see a woman with long, blonde hair in black standing there.

"It's Cynthia!" Jun said and waved at her. "Hey! Hi, Cynthia!"

"Did she save us?" Raven asked and waved at her. "Hi! Thank you!"

The woman, Cynthia, smiled at them. "Hello. Alright, Milotic, can you jump back up here?"

The Pokémon mumbled something back to its trainer before abruptly jumping out of the water with the three young trainer holding on tightly. It landed on dock gracefully, letting the three get off before curling up to sit next to its trainer.

"Hello, Jun," she said happily and looked at the other two. "Are these friends of yours?"

"Yep!" Jun answered. "This is Raven and, uh…" He paused, looking at Gold. "…What was your name again?"

"Gold."

"Right, this is Gold!"

Cynthia laughed. "Well, I'm glad you three are alright…"

She then paused, looking at the three trainers for a moment. "…Now that I look at these two, I think I recognize you both. Raven, you're Hoenn's newest Pokémon League Champion, and Gold, you're Johto's new Champion, am I right?"

"Whoa, she's a professional!" Gold exclaimed.

"How does that make her a professional?" Raven asked.

"She's a professional because she was able to identify us both without us having to tell her!"

"Ohhhh."

Cynthia laughed yet again. "Actually, would you three mind coming with me somewhere? And, do you know where Dawn, Lucas, and Angie are as well? I'd like them to be there with us…"

"Wait just a moment, ma'am!" Jun shouted and ran off quickly.

"Um, Ms. Cynthia?" Raven asked, looking up at the woman. "Where are we going?"

"Well, we're going to Celestic Town," she answered. "Although, I figured that since you two happened to be here right now, I might as well invite you too. Since you are the League Champions."

Raven looked confused while Gold looked exceptionally happy.

Not even five minutes had passed and Jun was already running back to them with Dawn, Lucas, and Angie in tow.

"Here they are!"

"Okay, good!" Cynthia said and smiled. She then reached into her pocket and took out a Poké Ball, tossing it into the air. A white Pokémon with wings came out, flying down next to her. "I don't know if Togekiss can carry all of you…"

"Not to worry, we have our own Pokémon! Right, everyone?" Jun asked, looking around at them.

"Uh, no," Raven, Angie, and Lucas answered.

Jun sighed. "Fine, I'll take Lucas. Dawn can take Raven. And Angie…"

"Angie can come with me!" Gold offered and Jun nodded.

"Alright, let's go!" Jun shouted and threw a Poké Ball in the air, letting out his Staraptor.

Dawn also let out her own Pokémon, which was identical in appearance to the one Cynthia had sent out. Gold let out his Pokémon, a manta-like Pokémon with a tail that looked like a streamer.

They all got onto the backs of their Pokémon and all the Pokémon took off into the sky, following Cynthia and her Togekiss to their location…

* * *

Whatever does Cynthia want them to do? Ohhh, the suspense is killing meeee. It hurtssss...

Yeah, okay. I need to stop posting chapters so late at night. Maybe that's why no one reads anything I write because I post it late at night. Haha, I rhymed...


	7. Chapter Six

Author's Notes: Finally, the answer to a mystery left unsolved in the previous story... Somewhat. I manage to connect both the Kyogre/Groudon incident from RSE to the incident with Dialga/Palkia from DPPt. Kinda. Yeah... Whatever.

* * *

Chapter Six

The flight to Celestic Town was long and boring. Every time Jun tried to fly ahead of Cynthia, she had her Pokémon fly ahead of Jun's, so she was ahead of him yet again. And Gold and Dawn's Pokémon both had to struggle to catch up with two every time they did this.

"Let's play a game!" Raven shouted over the wind. "Let's play I-Spy! Okay, me first! I spy… something white!"

"Ooh, ooh, pick me!" Angie shouted, waving her hand around. "A cloud!"

"Ding ding ding! You got it right!"

Dawn smacked her forehead, letting out a sigh.

"Okay, my turn, right?" Angie asked and looked out. "I spy something white…"

Raven raised her hand. "Is it a cloud?"

"Ding ding ding! You got it right!"

And so, Raven and Angie continued their never-ending game, saying the same things to each other each time.

Eventually, Cynthia's Pokémon began down to the ground, the other Pokémon all following it. Of course, Jun had his Staraptor start racing against Togekiss, and the two Pokémon began trying to see who could get to the town first.

Togekiss won the contest, reaching the ground first, yet still managing to make a graceful landing.

…Unlike Staraptor, who was unable to stop itself in time, and both it, Lucas, and Jun crashed to the ground.

Gold's Pokémon managed to glide down to the ground and land right next to the now twitching Jun, Lucas, and Staraptor. Dawn's Pokémon was the last one, it too landing gracefully like Cynthia's Togekiss.

Raven then noticed that there were other people there. There was a girl with short, red hair. Two boys, one taller than the other, but both with purple hair. Another girl, this one with pink hair tied into two big curls. And a young man with black hair, although he was wearing a hat and cape, so Raven couldn't really see.

Lucas was already standing up, seemingly immune to the crash to the ground. He looked at the people and simply said, "Oh, you guys are here too?"

"Yeah, Cynthia asked us all to gather here," the red haired girl said and then looked at Raven and Gold. "But, uh, who are they?"

"Raven and Bold," Jun said, jumping up from the ground.

"My name's Gold," Gold corrected. "This isn't going to be a running gag, is it?"

"Anyways, I brought the extra two because I figured that I should bring the other regions' League Champions to hear this," Cynthia said.

The shorter of the purple haired boys glared at them. "_They're_ League Champions?"

"I feel somewhat insulted," Gold said and Raven stood next to him, nodding quickly.

"Anyways," Cynthia interrupted. "Let's head to the ruins, shall we?"

Celestic Town was made of up three levels of ground. The first level had the buildings, of which there were very few, while the second level had nothing. The center level held a tiny shrine building in the center, but at the back of it was a hole, apparently leading into a cave. A flight of stairs connected all of the levels together.

The group all headed down the stairs, talking to one another along the way. Raven learnt that the red haired girl's name was Zoey, and that she frequently took part in contests in Hearthome City. She also learnt that the girl with pink hair was Ursula, the two purple haired boys were Reggie and Paul, and the man with the hat and cape was Nando.

Cynthia led the group in the cave on the bottom level, leading them into the ruins. Oddly, it gave Raven a nostalgic feeling, although she was pretty sure she'd never been there before. Cynthia lead them to the back of the cave, where there was a drawing on the wall.

There were three odd shapes in a triangular formation, and in the center of it, was appeared to represent light.

"This is what I wanted to show you all," Cynthia began, placing her hand on the drawing. "This cave painting… It's always been described this way. The light in the center represents either Dialga or Palkia appearing at the Spear Pillar. The three lights around it were thought to be Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf.

"But, then, I realized that there may be another way of interpreting this. Could this triangle of lights actually represent a different trio? Could they be Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina instead? And the large light at their center. Does it represent something else? Could it be what created this world of ours?"

She stopped to look back at the group of trainers. "Thank you for listening to my theory. Do you know of the ancient plates they find all over Sinnoh? One of them had this engraved on it: Two being of time and space set free from the Original One. I think that this quote, too, points to the presence of another Pokémon. A Pokémon even more powerful than Dialga and Palkia. Does that sound plausible to you? I'm not quite sure how Giratina fits into this scheme of things, but… It's said that in the Distortion World, neither time nor space were stable. I think that tells us something about Giratina, the only Pokémon there. It must have been as powerful as Dialga and Palkia, the rulers of time and space. In some way, though, Giratina has to have a power opposite of theirs.

"I'm sorry this is so long. I'm almost done though. A long time ago, I wonder what sort of person of person painted this? Dialga's Roar of Time… Palkia's Spacial Rend… To the people back then, those Pokémon really must have appeared to rule over time and space. Seeing them must have shaken the people to their very core. This painting represents those feelings of awe, wonder, and everything else. It passed that memory to countless people, eventually becoming a myth… That's what I believe as a researcher of myths."

She then laughed. "I'm sorry, I think I let myself get carried away… I talked a bit too long, didn't I? But…"

Cynthia's eyes narrowed and she looked back at the painting.

"The awakening of Dialga and Palkia that happened… It would've happened soon, even if Team Galactic hadn't intentionally woken them up. Because… due to a situation in another region, the world was recreated."

That made everyone else become surprised.

"What do you mean, the world was recreated?"

Cynthia looked at Raven. "Raven, you were there in that region… You witnessed the fight between Kyogre and Groudon, didn't you? And, you went and woke up Rayquaza to quell their fighting… However…"

Raven looked up at Raven, preparing for whatever she had to say.

"You died."

…

Raven started laughing loudly, rubbing the back of her head. "What're you talking about? I didn't die!"

Seeing as how she was the only one laughing, and that Cynthia was looking at her with a deathly serious face, she stopped.

"…I did, didn't I? A-and… so did my dad… B-but…" She stopped and looked up at Cynthia. "H-how do you even know that? You weren't there…"

"I talked to your friends. Specifically, Brendan," she answered. "I also talked with Hoenn's previous champion, Steven Stone."

Raven looked down at the ground, apparently rather shocked.

"While a majority of people were sleeping around the time it happened," Cynthia continued, looking back at the others. "The world was recreated mere minutes after Raven and several of her friends died.

"The damage caused by the fighting Pokémon, as well as the fact that the weather effects caused by the two were affecting other regions, awakened another Pokémon… The one that created this world. And then, it did it. It…"

"Recreated the world?" Jun finished. He looked back at the others, who all had varying expressions of disbelieve. "…What?"

"Like I said, a lot of people were asleep," Cynthia said. "But, people who did witness it described it as a brief white light, and then they were in a white world, all by themselves. And then, everything went black, and when they woke up, the world was normal. Everything destroyed was fixed, and Kyogre and Groudon were gone, as well as Rayquaza. Anyone who died was mysteriously alive yet again."

She looked at them all slowly. "I believe that the sudden and abrupt recreation of the world is what began to disturb Dialga and Palkia."

"Wait, let me get this straight…" Dawn said. "So, you mean that when this Pokémon recreated the world, it disturbed Dialga and Palkia… And that, regardless of Team Galactic's doings, they both would've woken up anyways?"

"Exactly," Cynthia said, nodding. "Further proof of the recreating of the entire world would be… Several locations have been changed. From several pictures I've found comparing certain locations before and after the recreation, it would appear that some places aren't in the same spots. For example… the Whirl Islands in Johto have changed location, yet only slightly. They're now located closer to Olivine City than their previous location, which was closer to Cianwood."

Nobody said anything, leaving Cynthia to break the silence.

"But… that's what I brought you all here today for. To tell you all of this. After all, all of you were there to fight against Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Gold, you yourself also fought against Lugia, correct?"

Gold nodded, apparently thinking about something. "Well… The Whirl Islands, you're right, they did change… I mean, I thought I was crazy when I was flying to Cianwood and saw them closer to Olivine…"

Cynthia also nodded. "I'm sorry for talking for so long. I wanted to explain things to you all… However, we believe that revealing this to the general public would be bad, as it would conflict with other people's ideals as well as cause panic. In fact, just looking at your reactions is enough proof of that," she said. At that, she began walking away from the painting and towards the exit. "Well, let's leave now, shall we?"

The group all nodded, heading after Cynthia quickly.

Once they were outside, Cynthia turned back around to look at them, frowning. "Your friend, Raven, she isn't looking too good right now…"

Sure enough, looking back at Raven proved to show that she was looking exceptionally pale, which was unusual for the girl.

"I'm sorry, maybe that was too much to spring on you out of the blue…" Cynthia said, placing a hand on her forehead. "Do you need to take a rest at the Pokémon Center?"

Raven shook her head, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. "I'm fine, sorry."

Cynthia smiled. "Well, okay then, if you say so…" She then let out her Togekiss again, hopping onto its back.

"Well, I'll be going now! Let's meet again somewhere, shall we?"

At with that, her Pokémon took flight, soaring off into the sky…

* * *

A majority of Cynthia's talking was from the event thing in Platinum. Durrrr, yeah.


	8. Chapter Seven

Author's Notes: This chapter features an uncharacteristically depressed Raven. Yeah. And if you squint, some Brendan/Raven. And the mysterious person's identity is revealed. :3

* * *

Chapter Seven

Dawn, Lucas, Jun, Angie, Gold, and Raven all returned to the Battle Frontier, and by the time they got there, night was already falling.

"Aw, man, I still wanted to battle some more…" Jun grumbled as the group ate dinner at the hotel.

"It's not like the Battle Frontier's gonna close anytime soon," Dawn said. "You've got tomorrow and all the days after that. Also, stop talking with your mouth full of food. It's rude."

Jun didn't listen to her, still talking with his mouth full. "But anyways, you know, I've got a running streak at the Battle Tower. 14 battles in a row! I would've done more but then I had to go search for Raven, and then Cynthia wanted us to go somewhere, and then by the time we got back all the facilities closed for the night."

Lucas was looking at Raven with a worried expression. The girl was simply poking at her food and not eating it.

"Raven, are you okay…?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Raven said. After poking her food a few more times, she suddenly stood up. "…Actually, no, I'm not. I'm gonna go to bed, so see you guys tomorrow."

Raven left to go back to their hotel room and Jun snorted. "What's up with her? Is it all because of what Cynthia said earlier? I mean, come on. So what, she died. But she's alive again, so it doesn't matter, right?"

Dawn sighed, looking at Jun with an annoyed expression. "It's not quite like that, Jun. I mean, think about it. She also said her father died during that too. So, what if your dad died, and you thought he was dead, and then he was suddenly alive again, as if nothing had happened? Not to mention, she didn't even realize she herself had died… Apparently, Brendan was trying to keep that from her, and well, he was right to do so."

"Well, I'd be happy, not all depressed about it," Jun muttered. "It's probably just her lady hormones."

Dawn sighed and shook her head. Meanwhile, Lucas simply continued eating his food silently.

* * *

When she woke up, it was still dark in the room. She sat up and looked around the hotel room; she was the only one there. The shades were shut, so it was dark in the room, but Raven could see that it was sunny outside…

What time was it?

She turned on the T.V., listening to the channel that was on.

"It's 12:30 PM right now, and it's a beautiful sunny day! There isn't a cloud in the sky and-"

Raven turned the T.V. off again and sat on the bed. She still was thinking about yesterday, and decided to crawl back under the covers to continue being depressed.

She laid there for a while, unable to go back asleep. The door to her room opened and someone walked in, so she shut her eyes tightly, pretending to be asleep. She felt the person sit down on the bed she was on, and felt the person place a hand on her back.

"You're probably kind of angry at me, aren't you?"

It was Brendan. How he knew she was awake was beyond her knowledge, but she peeked out from underneath the covers.

"A little. Why didn't you tell me that I died?"

"Because I figured it'd be better for you," he said and shrugged. "Clearly, I was right about that."

"How could you've possibly kept something like that a secret? Not to mention, it wasn't just me who died; Yellow, Wally, Tate, and Liza did too. I doubt they know."

"You're right, they don't," he said and let out a sigh. "But, the better part of it is that you're all alive, not dead. Right?"

Raven grumbled something that Brendan couldn't hear. After a moment of silence, he continued talking.

"Your friends are worried about you, you know. Everyone is."

Yet again she grumbled something and this time, Brendan let out a sigh.

"…You know what else? I, personally, am happy that you're alive. When I… When you guys fell from Rayquaza, all I could think about was whether you were alright or not. And when… When I saw you guys, you were all… You were all…"

Raven squinted to look at Brendan. Was he…? Yes, yes he was. The Brendan who was always there to say an insult to her, the Brendan who was so egotistical… Was crying.

"Ah, Brendan? You're not… really crying, are you? You're kidding around, right?"

"S-stupid…" he sniffed, wiping his eyes. "So what if I am crying? Everyone can cry when they feel like it, right?"

"Um…"

Brendan then reached down and hugged Raven tightly. "You're so stupid… But, you know, that's why I'm happy you're not dead… If you weren't here, who'd be there to say stupid things and to argue with me?"

Raven turned her head to look at Brendan. "…I don't know."

"Of course you don't, that's because you're stupid."

"Okay, enough with calling me stupid…"

Brendan laughed and Raven slightly smiled. Brendan finally let her out of the hug, wiping his face on his arm.

He tilted his head slightly. "You know, after all this time, I think I can actually say that you're my best friend. If you died, I'd be heartbroken."

Raven looked confused. "…Wait, what'd you just say? Repeat that one more time for me, because I don't think I heard you right."

Brendan laughed. "No, you heard me right." At that, he jumped off the bed, heading towards the door. "Try not to stay in bed too long, okay?"

He left before Raven could say anything back. Not like she was going to, though. She was way too confused about what she just heard.

* * *

"Ah, the zombie walks!"

Raven glared at Jun as she finally came outside. The blonde boy began laughing hysterically, however.

"I'm kidding! Please don't kill me!"

Dawn was also out there with Jun. She smiled at Raven, saying, "It's nice to see you're awake. You okay?"

Raven nodded quickly. "Yep! A-okay! Actually, I'm gonna go up to the Survival Area, okay? I told Buck I'd visit him."

"Who's Buck?"

Raven grinned, beginning to walk away. "A friend!" she answered. Dawn looked at Jun, who was already mumbling things to himself.

* * *

Raven managed to make it all the way to the Survival Area without battling anyone or taking any breaks, so she was exhausted by the time she got there. She walked into the Battleground, waving at everyone there.

"Hey, it's Raven!" Buck exclaimed, hopping off his seat to go up to her and punch her shoulder lightly. "What's up?"

"Eh, nothing, really," Raven mumbled, looking down at the ground.

Buck narrowed his eyes. "Something's definitely up. I can tell by the way you're acting."

"How do you know something's up by the way I'm acting? We've only known each other for a day, barely!"

"I can tell. So, tell me, what's up?"

"Nothing, I said! Really!"

"Fine then," Buck said, giving up and sitting back on his seat. "We managed to spot the suspicious person again, and this time he was heading to the Battle Frontier! He disappeared yet again, though…"

Raven sighed, going to take a seat next to Buck. She looked around the room: there were different people here today.

There was a pink haired girl having a hand wrestling match with a much larger bald man wearing an odd mask. Surprisingly, the girl managed to actually hold her own against the man, and there didn't seem to be a winner of the match anytime soon.

"The girl is Maylene and the guy's Crasher Wake, or just Wake for short," Buck explained. "Riley was here earlier but he said he was going to keep a look out for anything suspicious."

"Is that so…" Raven mumbled. "Hm… I'm going to look around outside a bit, okay?"

"Oh, sure, go ahead. Don't get lost."

"I won't…" Raven said and jumped off the seat, hurrying back outside.

Once outside, she headed off east, towards the place beyond the Survival Area. However, before she managed to get far, she sensed the presence of someone following her…

She spun around to see that there was a person actually following her. The person seemed startled and held his hands up in front of himself.

"Er… How did you manage to notice me? I thought I was being quiet enough…"

"Should you really be saying that right now?" she asked. "Rather, I should be yelling for someone to help me. You're the suspicious person that's been lurking around, aren't you?"

The man sighed. "Well, I guess I was being pretty suspicious. But, yes, I have been 'lurking around', as you've said. However, it is all in good intentions."

The man then reached inside the long brown coat he wore, taking out a police badge.

"I'm a detective. Codename: Handsome."


	9. Chapter Eight

Author's Notes: Decided to keep Detective Looker's name as it was in Japanese, which was Handsome. I don't see any reason why they changed it in the English versions, but I liked the Japanese version better.

Also, Raven takes on the Battle Factory challenge in this chapter. For the Pokémon she uses, as well as the first and second opponents, I personally took the Battle Factory challenge in my SoulSilver game and used that as reference.

Anyways, onwards with the chapter. School starts tomorrow for me, although I doubt that'll stop my updates for the story.

* * *

Chapter Eight

Raven was now sitting in the diner area of the Survival Area's Pokémon Center with so-called-detective Handsome.

"So, I'll apologize once again for my recent suspicious actions," he said, sitting across from her as they sat at a booth. "But it is necessary for my job."

"Okay… So, what is your job?"

"I told you. I am a detective."

Raven slammed her head down on the table, much to the amusement of Handsome.

"No, I mean what kind of detective work do you do?"

"I solve mysteries."

Raven slammed her head on the table again.

"No, no, that was a joke," Handsome said, laughing. "But… I'm currently investigating the doings of Team Galactic!"

"…"

"…Do you not know who Team Galactic is?"

"The name rings a bell, but no."

"All right, I'll sum it up for you with one word: evil!" he said, slamming his fist down on the table as he said "evil".

"Oookay…"

"But anyways," Handsome continued. "Back when Team Galactic was attempting to create the Red Chain, I snuck into their hideout as one of their members and stumbled across some notes that belonged to one of their members: Charon."

Now Raven was completely interested, nodding eagerly. "And? What'd the notes say?"

"The notes mentioned things about several legendary Pokémon. Specifically: Heatran, who lives at Stark Mountain, which is near here. Although I didn't understand too much of it, it mentioned something about waking up the Pokémon and using it to threaten people. Or something like that," Handsome said. "Oddly, the fact that he had made such notes _before_ Cyrus disappeared from Team Galactic means that either he must've foreseen Cyrus's leaving or he intended to leave Team Galactic and start his own thing by himself…"

"Hmm…" Raven said, tapping her chin. "Interesting…"

"However, I've managed to get some word out of other Team Galactic members about when he'll intend to do this, and I believe that it may be some time within this or next week!"

"Really, that soon, huh?" Raven asked. "In that case… I'll help you, Mr. Detective!"

"Great, I've been looking for someone to help!" Handsome said happily. "I'd like to you to notify me if you seen any of its members, okay? All Team Galactic members had bowl haircuts and were outfits that look like space suits!"

"Ohhh!"

"And they typically have the Pokémon Glameow and Stunky!"

"Ohhhhh!"

"And they typically aren't very smart either!"

"Ohhhhhhh!"

"Alright, miss! I'm looking forward to our partnership!" Handsome said, nodding. "By the way… I never did catch your name, did I?"

Raven grinned happily. "My name's Raven! Nice to meet you!"

* * *

Raven headed back to the Battle Frontier shortly after. Of course, she fully intended on looking out from Team Galactic… Except she didn't know what a bowl haircut was, and she'd already forgotten their name by the time she'd reached the frontier. Oddly, she didn't forget helping out Detective Handsome.

"Hm… I guess I should go and challenge one of the Battle Frontier facilities…" Raven mumbled, tapping her chin. "Which one should I do?"

After a couple of minutes of talking to herself, she decided to try out the Battle Factory, which she hadn't had a chance to battle at.

The inside was completely blue and filled with glass panels and whirring fans. Lights could be seen traveling through several glass panels.

Raven walked around in amazement, walking down towards one of the attendants. "Wooowww…"

"Hello, welcome to the Battle Factory! I am your guide to the single and double battle challenges. Please be aware that these challenges are designed for a single trainer," the attendant, a man in green, said. "Which challenge would you like to take?"

"Single battle, please!"

"Which challenge level would you like to play? Level 50 or Open Level?"

"Challenge level…? Um, I'll go with Level 50…"

"Alright then, right this way, please!" the attendant said, walking off down a hallway. Raven followed him and he stopped, pointing at a woman wearing glasses standing ahead of them. "She will assist you with everything else."

"Oh, okay," Raven mumbled and walked over to the woman.

"I've done a bit of research into your next opponent," she said. "You can expect to see Dunsparce, Shinx, and Kricketot. First, we will hold your Pokémon in exchange for you renting our Pokémon."

Raven nodded, handing over her Pokémon's Poké Balls.

"May I suggest choosing Pokémon after appropriate deliberation?" she asked. She then motioned to a nearby machine, which immediately sent out six Poké Balls on a conveyer belt.

Raven walked over to the Poké Balls, being able to see the Pokémon inside them: Luvdisc, Dustox, Hippopotas, Gloom, Squirtle, and Nidorino.

"Hm… let's see…" she mumbled, looking at each of the Pokémon carefully. "I'll go with Nidorino, Hippopotas, and Squirtle, in that order!"

Raven took the three Poké Balls and the other three slid back into the machine. The woman stepped aside, letting Raven head into the battlefield.

Raven hurried to take her place at the field and waited for a moment before a girl around her age came out the other door and stood across the battlefield.

"It's hard to keep the streak alive, but the battles are fun," the girl said.

"Um… okay?"

At that, the girl tossed a Poké Ball in the air, letting out a yellow, serpent like Pokémon with little white wings.

Raven threw her own Poké Ball, letting out a purple Pokémon with a horn on its head; Nidorino.

"Alright, Nidorino!" Raven shouted, and then realized she knew none of the Pokémon's attacks. She quickly fumbled around for her PokéDex, taking it out and pointing it at Nidorino. In a moment, its attacks came onto the screen, as well as its nature and remaining health.

"Use Double Kick!"

Nidorino ran up to Dunsparce, kicking it with its hind legs twice. The little Pokémon got knocked backwards, but managed to float back up.

"Dunsparce, use Bite!" the other girl ordered. Dunsparce did as told, giving Nidorino a bite on the tail.

"Use Double Kick again, Nidorino," Raven shouted. Nidorino nodded, running again and kicking Dunsparce twice. This time, the little yellow Pokémon didn't get back up, having fainted.

The girl returned Dunsparce and sent out her next Pokémon: a small, cricket-like Pokémon that was making quiet noises that sounded like a xylophone.

"Alright… Use Façade!" Raven ordered.

Nidorino ran towards Kricketot, slamming into the Pokémon and hopping back towards Raven.

"Kricketot, use Mud-Slap!" the girl shouted. Kricketot complied, kicking mud from who-knows-where at Nidorino.

"Um… okay… This time, use Flatter!" Raven ordered.

Nidorino nodded, looking at Kricketot and apparently telling it something, nodding approvingly. Kricketot frowned, looking confused.

"Kricketot, use Mud-Slap again!" the girl said. However, Kricketot seemed to too confused, and kicked up the attack at itself instead.

"Use Double Kick again!" Raven ordered, watching the Pokémon kick Kricketot twice. However, the Pokémon managed to still keep itself standing.

"Use Growl!" the girl ordered. This time, Kricketot managed to begin growling at Nidorino, which ended up being more hilarious than intimidating.

"Nidorino, use Façade!"

Nidorino began running towards Kricketot to attack, but ended up missing the cricket Pokémon.

"Kricketot, use Growl again!"

And yet again, Kricketot attempting to growl at Nidorino, which was still hilarious the second time.

"Façade again!"

"Use Bug Bite!"

Nidorino managed to slam into Kricketot, who in turn began nibbling at Nidorino's leg.

"Once more! Façade!"

"Growl!"

Nidorino slammed into Kricketot, who'd begun growling at Nidorino. Just then, Kricketot started eating a berry that it had hid within its antenna. However, it didn't look very energized from the berry, if that was even its intended affect.

"And Façade!"

"Mud-Slap!"

Nidorino ran at Kricketot and missed yet again, while Kricketot kicked up mud at the purple Pokémon.

"Façade!"

"Growl!"

Nidorino slammed into Kricketot again, yet somehow the little Pokémon _still_ managed to stay conscious. And, yet again, Kricketot growled.

"Oh, geez, this isn't going anywhere!" Raven snapped. "Nidorino, enough! Get back!"

She returned Nidorino to its Poké Ball, sending out her next Pokémon. "Your foe's weak! Get 'em, Hippopotas!"

Raven's next Pokémon, a tan, hippo-like Pokémon, came out. There was a small hole on its back, which began spouting out sand, which suddenly began whipping around the room, turning it into a sandstorm.

"Bug Bite, Kricketot!"

Kricketot ran up to Hippopotas, nibbling at it and stealing a berry it had hidden on itself.

"Hippopotas, use Rock Tomb!" Raven shouted. The hippo Pokémon began throwing rocks from somewhere at the Kricketot, slamming into it. Kricketot finally toppled over, unconscious.

The girl returned Kricketot and sent out her next Pokémon, a little blue cat-like Pokémon.

"Hippopotas! Rock Tomb again!"

"Bite it, Shinx!"

Shinx moved faster, biting Hippopotas quickly. Hippopotas slammed rocks into Shinx, knocking it backwards.

"Sand Tomb!"

"Bite!"

This time, Hippopotas managed to move first, using the sand from the sandstorm to tighten around the Pokémon and squeeze it. It appeared to be too much for Shinx, who fainted from the attack.

"Picnicker Maggy has lost the battle. Pokémon trainer Raven wins," a computer voice said. The girl returned Shinx to its Poké Ball and left the room.

Raven also headed back into the hallway after being called back by the woman from before.

"Well done!" she said, taking the Poké Balls and placed them in a machine. "We'll heal your Pokémon now."

The machine began glowing slightly before fading away. The woman continued talking. "Next up, battle no. 2! Are you ready?"

"Yep!"

"I've done a bit of research into your next opponent. You can expect to see Magby, Gible, and Cacnea. Would you like to trade Pokémon before your battle?"

"Nope."

"Please go in," she said, stepping aside.

Raven hurried out onto the field again, where another woman had walked out and took her place across the field.

"Raising Pokémon with love isn't the same as coddling them. Don't you see?" she asked.

"Wait… you're using rental Pokémon, though, so what're you talking about?" Raven asked. However, the woman ignored her, sending out a Pokémon. "No, wait, answer my question… Hey! HEY!"

* * *

After Raven completed 7 battles, she sat on the ground, exhausted. From what, you may wonder? Oh, that's simple, she used her brain too much.

As she sat on the ground with a headache, a boy walked up to her. "Hello there. May I ask a question?"

"Sure, go ahead…"

"What made you choose those Pokémon? There was no balance within that team, they all were of an adamant nature with their best stat being attack. You could of lost easily."

"Hm…? I never consider nature, or their best stat or whatever that is. I just did it because of their type. You know, like first there was poison-type, following by a super-effective ground-type, followed by another super-effective water-type."

"So you based your team simply on that?"

"Yep!"

The boy began mumbling something to himself before shaking his head. "I've got an idea. Tomorrow, I want you to come back here, okay? Tell the workers that Thorton called you there personally. Understand?"

"Do I look so stupid that you have constantly ask me that?" Raven asked.

"A little, actually."

"I'm quite offended."

"Well, I'll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow then," the boy said and turned around, walking away.

Raven sat on the floor with an annoyed face. Eventually, she had to leave her position on the floor when the staff informed her that it was time to close the Battle Factory.

She left the building, finding that it was already nighttime outside. Had she really spent that much time battling at the Battle Factory? It had been light outside when she first went in…

Oh well. At least she had something to look forward to tomorrow.


	10. Chapter Nine VS Thorton

Author's Notes: After a million chapters of stalling, we finally get an actual Frontier Brain battle. Yays.

* * *

Chapter Nine

It was the next day, and Raven woke up early so she could hurry back to the Battle Factory. She'd already told her friends about it, and Jun was immediately jealous that someone had personally requested to battle her.

Once she hurried to the Battle Factory (after eating, of course), she saw that it was once again filled with people eagerly going to taking the challenge.

Unsure of what to do, she walked up to one of the attendants. "Excuse me?"

"Welcome to the Battle Factory!" the person said happily with a smile that was definitely fake. "I am your guide to the-"

"Okay, okay, I've heard it before," Raven said quickly, letting out a sigh. "Um… yesterday, I was asked to come here again by… um, was his name Thorton or something like that?"

"Oh, he asked you to come here?" the attendant asked in surprise and turned back to one of his co-workers. "Hey, you! Go tell Thorton that the trainer he asked for has come!"

The other worker hurried off and the attendant turned back to Raven. "Yes, Thorton told us about you! He said he'd like to battle you. And so, the both of you will be using rental Pokémon to battle each other."

"…Quick question, is Thorton the Frontier Brain here?"

The person looked confused. "You didn't know that? Well, yes, he is."

Someone ran back to the other attendant. "Thorton said he's ready to battle you right now."

"Well, let's go!" Raven said happily. "I'm ready!"

Just like the previous day, they led Raven back towards a woman, who smiled at her.

"Hello, you're from yesterday, correct?" she asked and Raven nodded. "Well, I guess I won't need to explain things to you, then. Please choose your Pokémon."

The conveyer belt set out six Poké Balls, which Raven took a look at.

There was Lopunny, Snorlax, Yanmega, Empoleon, Marowak, and Shiftry.

"Your opponent will be using an Ice Beam-using Glaceon," the woman said.

"Um, okay…" Raven mumbled, looking at each Pokémon carefully. "Okay… Let's use Yanmega, Empoleon, and Snorlax, in that order."

She took the Poké Balls, watching the other three disappear. The woman then stepped out of the way of the door, letting Raven walk through into the field. Raven hurried to take her place on the field and waited for her opponent.

…He didn't seem to be coming out anytime soon. Raven looked around in confusion. Was he running late or something?

All of a sudden, there was an explosion on the stage, causing Raven to jump in surprise. Once the smoke disappeared, there was the person she'd be battling: Frontier Brain Thorton.

"Bzweeeep! Oh, sorry, don't mind me," he said, waving away the smoke and looking at a machine. "What I'm using is an invention of mine. It's my data-analyzing machine. It's telling me what you've rented for this match. I see! You've rented Yanmega, Empoleon, and Snorlax."

"What? That's totally cheating! I don't know any of your Pokémon!"

"Hahah, well, I have to say that what you've chosen is a good setup. Like, say, 15 percent?"

"15 percent?"

Thorton shook his head, shrugging. "Oh, don't let that number concern you! Besides, up in the seats, those are your friends?"

Raven looked up to see that there was, indeed, a seating area for where they were battling. And, yes, her friends were sitting up there, waving down at her.

"Come on, Raven, you can do it!" Pearl shouted happily.

"Oh, crap…" Raven mumbled.

"Alrighty, let's get going!" Thorton said and Raven nodded. "Start the battle!"

Raven threw her first Poké Ball, letting out a giant, dragonfly-like Pokémon. Thorton also let out his first Pokémon, a light blue fox-like Pokémon.

Raven frowned. She was at a disadvantage already. Still, it wasn't very fair that the Frontier Brain already knew what Pokémon she rented…

"By the way, I chose my Pokémon at random too," Thorton added. "Judging by the look on your face, you're probably thinking that I intentionally chose a Pokémon knowing what you'd be using. But I didn't do that."

"Uh… I was thinking that at all!" Raven lied, laughing slightly. Although it was completely obvious that she was faking it.

"Well, let's go! Glaceon, use Ice Beam!"

"Yanmega, use Signal Beam!"

Yanmega appeared to be the faster of the two, effortlessly shooting a rainbow colored light at Glaceon. The ice Pokémon skidded backwards but did not fall unconscious from the hit. Meanwhile, it took in a deep breath and fired off its own light blue ray at its opponent. Yanmega didn't seem to take the attack very well and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Raven quickly returned the dragonfly Pokémon, letting out her next Pokémon: a tall, blue penguin Pokémon.

"Empoleon next, huh?" Thorton mumbled. "Glaceon, use Hidden Power!"

"Empoleon, use Metal Claw!"

Empoleon lunged at Glaceon, its arm shining as it became covered in metal, which slammed onto Glaceon. The Pokémon couldn't withstand the hit, falling unconscious.

Thorton returned the Pokémon to its Poké Ball, nodding slightly. "Go, Ursaring!" he shouted, letting out a tall, brown bear Pokémon.

"Empoleon, use Aqua Jet!"

"Ursaring, Shadow Claw!"

Empoleon surrounded itself in water, launching itself at Ursaring like a rocket. It slammed into Ursaring and it stumbled backwards. It, however, quickly retaliated by striking the penguin Pokémon with a shadow-like hand.

"Use Brick Break!"

"Strength!"

Empoleon brought its arm down on Ursaring's head. This time, the blow managed to cause it to collapse to the ground, unconscious.

Thorton let out a sigh and returned Ursaring to its Poké Ball. He then threw his next Poké Ball, letting out a large yellow Pokémon which Raven recognized as Electivire.

"Electivire, use Thunder Punch!" Thorton shouted. Before Raven even managed to shout out an attack for Empoleon, Elective punched it with an electricity-covered fist. Empoleon collapsed to the ground, struggling to get up. Although not unconscious, it was still having trouble moving.

"Looks like Empoleon is paralyzed," Thorton commented. "In that case, we'll finish it off with a Cross Chop!"

"W-wait!" Raven stammered. "I want to use an item!"

Everyone went silent.

"You can't use items here, Raven!" Pearl shouted from up in the seats. "Did you not listen to the rules?"

"But… If I don't, Empoleon will get hurt…"

Pearl began smacking her forehead, grumbling to herself. Jun had started shouting random gibberish and everyone else just looked somewhat amused.

"Anyways…" Thorton said, coughing to get her attention. "Electivire, please continue. Cross Chop!"

Electivire delivered a chop to Empoleon, which managed to knock out the paralyzed Pokémon.

Raven began mumbling to herself as she returned Empoleon to its Poké Ball. Then she let out her final Pokémon, a Snorlax.

"Hm… This one will be a little harder to take down, hm?" Thorton said as he looked at the large Pokémon. "In that case… Electivire, use Cross Chop again!"

"Snorlax, use Rock Slide!"

Electivire crossed both arms as it chopped at Snorlax, knocking the larger Pokémon over. Snorlax began tossing large boulders from somewhere at Electivire, causing the Pokémon to trip over its feet and fall.

"Now! Snorlax, use Return!"

Snorlax slammed down on Electivire with its body, which seemed to resemble more of a body slam than whatever kind of move Return was. But anyways… It got up from crushing Electivire, revealing the unconscious Electivire.

"Factory Head Thorton is out of usable Pokémon," a computer voice said. "Challenger Raven wins."

"Hmm…" Thorton mumbled as he returned Electivire to its Poké Ball. "I got handed the loss here. It's not making me happy at all, losing. Even though I'm not happy, I did glean some useful data, I suppose. That makes me glad I battled you."

"Eheh, really?" Raven asked happily, returning Snorlax to its Poké Ball. "I was a little worried that the Return move wouldn't be enough to knock Electivire out, but it worked!"

"Yes, yes. So, may I ask?" Thorton began, heading over to Raven. "What made you choose today's Pokémon?"

"Well, today I thought I should take a look at their stats and moves. So, I based the team on Pokémon with a high attack and speed. So, Yanmega was the fastest, then Empoleon, and then Snorlax."

"I see, I see… I must say, it was pretty dangerous sending Snorlax out to battle last. Its defense stat isn't as good as, say, its special defense. I mean, I'm surprised it didn't faint from the Cross Chop move."

"Yeah, yeah, but see? Snorlax is holding Leftovers, so its HP gets restored every turn."

"Oh, I see! What items were Empoleon and Yanmega holding?"

"Empoleon was holding a Razor Claw and Yanmega was holding-"

"ENOUGH!" Jun shouted, jumping down from the seating area. "Jeez, you two sound like a couple of nerds! Man, Raven, I thought you wouldn't even pay attention to stuff like that, but listening to you talk like that… It makes you sound smart! It's sooooo annoying!"

Raven stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just jealous 'cause I'm smarter than you."

"What? I'm not jealous! And you aren't smarter than me, no way!"

"Yes, way! I am, I am!"

"You're not! Not!"

"Anyways, Raven, could you hand me your Frontier Pass?" Thorton asked. Raven quickly reached into her pocket and handed him the little machine. "I'll be back in a moment. Just wait here, okay?"

"Yes, okay," Raven answered and glared at Jun. "What's that? You can't believe I totally beat a Frontier Brain before you did?"

* * *

When they left the Battle Factory, it had begun raining outside.

"Ah, rain?" Pearl asked, looking up at the sky. "it was sunny before we got here though…"

"Well, whatever! Let's go eat lunch, I'm starving!" Jun shouted.

"We just ate breakfast though."

"So what?"

Meanwhile, Thorton and Raven were still discussing different Pokémon and battling methods. Jun suddenly jumped in between the two.

"Stop being a couple of nerds!"

"Bad Jun, go lay down," Raven said.

Jun frowned and began pinching her cheeks. "What'd you just tell me to do?"

"Ow, ow, pwease wet go!"

Thorton sighed as Jun continued pinching Raven. He then looked off in the direction of the Battle Tower and noticed someone standing there, watching the group. Once spotted, however, the person retreated back behind the building.

Thorton narrowed his eyes at the place the person had been. "Hmm…"

"Did ya see that too?" Lyra asked, standing directly behind him. He jumped in surprise but, after hearing what she said, nodded.

"The person by the Battle Tower, you mean? Yes."

Everyone else looked at Thorton and Lyra, and then at one another, nodding.

Meanwhile, the person who'd just hid behind the Battle Tower was none other than Detective Handsome. He had been going to find Raven to ask if she'd heard or seen anything, but… Well, now someone had spotted him. He'd have to be careful if…

"What're you doing?" someone asked and Handsome jumped in surprise, looking to see that the group of kids were now standing by him, a majority of them looking at him with suspicious faces.

Handsome quickly held up his hands. "I'm innocent! I've done nothing wrong!"

"Yeah, except sneak around like a creep," Pearl said. "Who are you and why are you watching us?"

Handsome sighed. "Well, simply put, I'm-"

"That's Detective Handsome!"

"Hah?" Pearl looked down at where Raven was. "You know this guy?"

"Yeah! He's investigating the doings of Team… Uh, a bad villainous team!" Raven said, managing to not say the name of Team Galactic but only because she couldn't remember it. "I offered to help him!"

Dawn tapped her chin. "Oh, yeah, now that I look at him, I remember him too! It's that detective that dressed up like a Team Galactic member!"

"I remember him too!" Lucas said happily. "Long time no see!"

"What? I don't remember this guy at all," Jun grumbled and Raven sighed.

"I apologize for sneaking around," Handsome said, bowing slightly. "It's a bad habit. Hard to break. But anyways… Raven, I came here to ask whether you've heard anything or not about Team Galactic! I didn't manage to get a way to contact you so I had to find you."

"Oh, right, Team Galactic. Um, no, haven't heard anything."

Brendan glanced at Raven before saying, "I'll bet anything that she totally forgot the name of the team as well as what she was helping you out with."

"I-I did not! I remember, I did!… Kinda."

Everyone simply sighed.

* * *

Derp. Next chapter in a moment...


	11. Chapter Ten

Author's Notes: The other Frontier Brains get some "screentime" now. :3 I think it sucks that we won't see them in the anime...

* * *

Chapter Ten

"This rain just isn't letting up, is it?" a man in a tuxedo said, looking out a window. "Lady Caitlin, what would you say about it?"

"…It's fine," a girl said, glancing at the window. "Nothing special. It's just a summer rain."

Another woman began talking. "Well, anyways, I just heard that a little trainer beat Thorton just a bit ago! Little Thorton's probably going, 'It was a minor miscalculation.' But you know what I think?"

"Let me guess…" the man said. "It was because of luck?"

"Oh, Darach, you know me so well!" the lady said, laughing and playfully punching his shoulder. "But it's the truth! He can go on about calculations all he wants, but it was all about luck! That why I think that trainer should come try out my facility!"

"Hm… I see…" Darach mumbled. "But then, if they're lucky enough, they'll challenge the Battle Castle instead of the Battle Arcade!"

"…What was that you said just now?"

"N-nothing! It was nothing at all!" Darach laughed. "Please, Dahlia, I didn't say anything, really! Ahahah…"

Caitlin watched the scene with an amused expression. When Darach noticed the expression, she quickly changed it to a blank face.

"Lady Caitlin… Just now, were you…?"

"I was not. I would never be amused by such a thing."

The woman, Dahlia, hurried over to Cailtin, throwing her arms around the little girl. "Aw, what's that, Caitlin? You'd enjoy seeing Darach get beat up because of things he says?"

"I did not say such a thing," Cailtin said, making a pathetic attempt to escape from Dahlia's hug. "Please let go of me, your hair smells disgusting."

"Does it?" Dahlia asked, letting go of her and sniffing her hair. "I was trying out a new hair product… Does it smell bad?"

"I assure you that it probably doesn't," Darach said. "Lady Caitlin was most likely saying that in order for you to let her go. Apparently, it worked."

Caitlin looked at Darach in annoyance. "Darach! That's not why! It does smell gross!"

Dahlia looked between the two of them. "Does it? Or does it not? I'm so confused!"

Darach sighed and then noticed that someone was nearby, watching them. "Oh… Hello, Argenta, what brings you here?"

"Nothing much, but it looks like you're all having fun," she said, smiling at them. "Anyways, did you hear? Thorton lost against some kid earlier."

"Well, yes, we've heard about it," Darach said, glancing at the other two. "Right?"

"Well, maybe my hair does smell bad…" Dahlia mumbled before pointing at Caitlin. "But… At least I can wash my own hair!"

Caitlin's face became red as she began stuttering, apparently trying to come up with a comeback. "W-well… Um…"

Argenta sighed. "How childish…"

"Yes…" Darach muttered. "We haven't gotten any trainers yet who've managed to keep a streak long enough for us to deem them worthy to battle us…"

"I've had a couple of trainers who managed to battle enough to face me but they all lost," Argenta said. "Dahlia! What about you?"

Dahlia looked up at Argenta, waving slightly. "Oh, Argenta, when did you get here?"

"A bit ago. Have any trainers been able to battle you?"

"A couple, but they didn't win," said Dahlia with a flip of her hair. "Luck just wasn't on their side.~"

At that, she reached down and pulled Caitlin up from her seat, dancing around with her. "Come on, Caitlin, you sing it too! Luck just wasn't on their side.~"

Caitlin became even more flustered than she already was. "L-luck just wasn't on their side.~"

"Oh, honey, you need to work on your singing some more. That was terrible."

"O-oh, quiet you!"

"Well, anyways," Argenta said, turning around and walking away. "Just thought I'd give you guys a heads up on it, okay?"

"Yes, thank you!" Darach shouted, looking back at where Dahlia was still twirling Caitlin around. "Oh, Dahlia, please be gentler with Lady Caitlin…"

Dahlia stopped twirling her around, catching her as she stumbled. "Oh, sorry. It's just, Caitlin really needs to be taught how to dance. She can't dance to save her life."

"I can do it perfectly fine!" Caitlin argued, beginning to pout. "I just can't dance when you twirl me around like that."

"Is that so…?" Dahlia mumbled, looking out a nearby window. She noticed something moving around and tried to keep her eye on it. "Hey, Darach, you don't have wild Pokémon running around loose outside, do you?"

Darach gave her an odd look. "Um, no. Why do you ask…?"

"Well, I see something moving around out there is all."

Darach came to look out the window as well. Since the Battle Castle was built along the wall of the Battle Frontier, looking out a window gave one a view of the outside area, where there were lots of trees.

And… ah, yes, something was moving among the trees. Then Darach saw something… or rather, someone with light blue hair.

"…Hm… A person…"

Dahlia gasped. "No, is it?"

"…Should we go check it out?" Darach asked.

"You bet!"

"Alright then. Lady Caitlin, please stay here. Dahlia and I will return shortly," Darach said as the two began walking away. Caitlin frowned but stayed there, looking out the window.

* * *

Luckily, the person was still there as Darach and Dahlia approached him. He appeared to be confused as he walked around, not knowing where he was.

"Excuse me!~" Dahlia sang out and the man nearly jumped a foot in the air. He looked over his shoulder at them, squinting.

"Yes…?"

"Can we help you?" she continued. Darach stood at her side, looking at the man in annoyance.

The man seemed to consider this for a moment before continuing. "Actually, yeah, you can help me. Do you know where the Battle Factory is?"

"Well, you'd have an easier time finding it if you were actually _in_ the Battle Frontier," Dahlia said.

"Oh… you mean I'm not?"

"Um, no, you're not," Dahlia said, laughing slightly. Was this guy stupid or what?

"Oh, in that case, so sorry to have bothered you," the man said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and walking away. "I'll be on my way now…"

Dahlia frowned as the man disappeared through the trees. "Hm… Darach?" she asked, waiting for the young man's reply. When she didn't hear it, she said his name again. "…Darach?"

She looked behind her to see Darach entrance with an above window, waving at it happily. Caitlin was beyond the window, waving back down at him.

"Darach, pay attention!" Dahlia snapped, pushing his shoulder. "I thought you were gone or something!"

"Oh, no, I'm still here," Darach replied.

"…I can see that."

"Oh, can you? I thought maybe I was lucky enough not to be seen…"

"What was that? Was that a joke?"

"I'm so sorry, Dahlia, I said nothing just now. Really! It's true! P-please, don't hurt me…"

* * *

It's fun writing as these guys. :3 Yays.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Author's Notes: I like shorts! They're delightfully comfy and easy to wear!

No, that has nothing to do with the chapter. I just wanted to say that. :3 By the way, I think the Battle Hall is my favorite Battle Frontier challenge. It's fun.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

And so, as the events of the previous chapter went on, our large group plus Thorton sat in one of the hotel restaurants eating lunch and talking.

Annnnddd of course Thorton and Raven were still talking about battle methods.

"But you see, if you can anticipate a poison type attack and manage to switch out to, let's say, the steel/water type Empoleon, the poison effect would be negated."

"I see, I see…"

"You guys are so nerdy…" Jun grumbled.

"You're~just~jealous!" Raven sang, much to Jun's annoyance.

"I am not!" Jun snapped.

"Am too."

"AM NOT."

"Do they always fight like this?" Thorton asked, looking at everyone else.

"Pretty much, yeah."

Just then, someone walked up to where the group sat. "Thorton, are you enjoying yourself here with your friends?"

"Yep," Thorton nodded. "Raven and I were discussing battling."

"Is that so…" the woman mumbled, looking at the group. "So, which one of you was the one that beat Thorton?"

Raven's hand shot into the air. "Me! I did it!"

The woman removed the pair of sunglasses she wore. "Hm, you? That's a surprise, you're shorter than Thorton!"

"W-what's that supposed to mean?"

The woman laughed. "It doesn't mean much, so just forget I said it. Anyways, I think you should come battle at the Battle Hall next, what do you say?"

"Which one was…?" Raven mumbled for a second and then remembered. "Oh, yeah! I'll go there later today and challenge it! It was the one I wanted to try first but…"

She paused, glaring at Jun and Pearl. "But, well, some people had other ideas."

"Hey, don't look at me," Jun grumbled.

"I don't really care what you think of me," Pearl also said.

Argenta put her sunglasses back on, turning around and walking away. "Well, then, I'll be looking forward to seeing you there, alright?"

"Right!" Raven shouted and then turned back to her friends. "I'm going to challenge the Battle Hall!"

"Yeah, well so will I!" Jun shouted. "Raven! It's a race to see who can battle the Frontier Brain first!"

"Alright! I won't lose!"

"Neither will I!"

"Wow, you two are just…" Pearl began but shook her head. "Never mind."

* * *

And so, after they finished eating, Raven and Jun raced to the Battle Hall, which was luckily located next to the hotel they were staying at.

Inside the building, there was a red carpet going from the entrance and off into a different room. Jun and Raven impatiently ran up the attendants, both of them talking at the same time.

"We'd like to take part in the Battle Hall challenge!"

"Would you like to participate in the double battles or single battles…?" the attendant asked, looking at the two of them. "If you participate in the double battles, you'll have to enter two Pokémon of the same species."

"Single battle then!"

"Alright, then. Please choose a single Pokémon."

"I'll go with Infernape!" Jun hollered, taking out Infernape's Poké Ball.

Raven seemed to think for a moment. "I'll choose Pichu."

"Very well," the attendant said and began walking away. "Please follow me."

Both Jun and Raven followed the person, curious as to why they were having the two of them go to the same place if they weren't battling together.

However, they soon found out why as they walked in the Battle Hall's stadium area.

There were various runways leading out to several small fields for people to battle on. There were crowds surrounding the fields and runways, and several fields already held people having battles of their own.

"When they call out your name, take out your Pokémon and walk down the next free runway. Be sure to show off as much as you can before your battle starts!" the attendant said. The person then turned around and walked away.

As Jun and Raven waited for the next free runway, they saw cameras flash and people continue cheering. Trainers were putting on little shows for the audience, spinning around and posing.

"…I have a feeling…" Jun said slowly.

"That this place is filled with crazy, egotistical Poké-fanatics?" Raven completed and he nodded. "By the way, do you think we should take out our Pokémon now? You know, let 'em get used to what's going to happen?"

"Good idea," Jun said and took out Infernape's Poké Ball again. Instead of throwing it in the air, he simply pressed the button and let out the fire monkey in front of him. Clearly, his Pokémon wasn't expecting the current scene, jumping in surprise at the sound of the crowd.

As Jun began talking to Infernape, Raven turned around to let out her own Pokémon; the tiny yellow mouse, Pichu. If Pichu was surprised, he didn't show it at all, merely looking around quickly before jumping up onto Raven's shoulder.

"Okay, Pichu, when they call us up, we have to walk down the runway, 'kay?" Raven asked. Pichu nodded slightly but said nothing.

"Alright everyone! Here comes our next trainer! Jun and Infernape, come on out!"

Jun tapped Raven's shoulder quickly before he began heading down the runway with Infernape. To be truthful, watching the two make attempts to strike a pose was quite hilarious.

Not even a minute after they called Jun did another announcer shout Raven's name. "Raven and Pichu, come on out!"

Seeing the next empty stage, Raven hurried towards it. Pichu jumped off her shoulder and landed alongside her, waving at the crowd and getting squeals from several women.

"So cute!~"

"Aw, that Pichu and its trainer are adorable!"

Raven did her best not to twitch at the phrase "adorable". She made it to the stage, where cameras were still going off.

"Alright kid!" the announcer said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You get a list here with the seventeen Pokémon types. They all start at Rank 1 and go up as you defeat a trainer from that type. So, which type will you choose?"

Raven looked at the list quickly before deciding. "I'll go with the water type!"

"Water type, Rank 1!" the announcer shouted. A girl began walking down the runway with a Pokémon behind her. She stopped at the same field Raven was at, standing across from her.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Go, Marshtomp!" the girl shouted, and the Pokémon came out from behind her to take its place in front of her.

"Marshtomp? Wait, isn't that Pokémon…?" Raven began and suddenly dreaded this challenge.

After all, Marshtomp was a water type. But it was also a ground type, which negated the effects of electricity. Thus, Raven thought she'd be able to beat the challenge easily if she intentionally choose Pokémon that were weak to Pichu but…

"That sucks! That's not fair!" Raven whined as Pichu reluctantly took its place in front of Raven. "Waaah!"

* * *

The Battle Hall was a bit different from the other facilities in that you had to battle 10 trainers before you were allowed to leave. Surprisingly, Raven managed to complete a streak of 10 with Pichu, managing to get past the Marshtomp that she first battled.

Seeing as how Jun had decided to start another round of battles and Raven was too lazy (or rather, impatient) to wait for him, she decided to go up to the Survival Area again. This time she decided to keep Pichu out of his Poké Ball, and the little Pokémon rode on top of her head instead.

Despite the earlier rain, the area was still as hot as always, and now it was humid too. Perhaps it was because of that that there were a lot of bug Pokémon out right now, sleeping and wandering around.

Once Raven made it to the Survival Area, something caught her eye. A person with blue hair was talking to himself. Or into something, but mostly it looked like he was talking to himself. Raven narrowed her eyes but ignored him, heading into the Battleground.

"Oh! Looks like Buck's lady friend is visiting again! Looks like you're a regular now, hm?" the old man greeted. Let's call him The Old Man.

"Yep!" Raven said happily and looked around. Nobody was there, not even Buck. "Is Buck not here?"

The Old Man shook his head. "Nope. Said he was going out to Stark Mountain to do some training. Said he'd back in a bit. So, you want anything to eat or drink?"

Raven shook her head, and then realized Pichu was still up there. "Oh, Pichu, do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"…Milk."

"Alright! One milk for Pichu, please!"

The Old Man nodded, reaching into a fridge and getting out a little bottle of milk, which Pichu quickly began drinking. Apparently, Pichu liked milk.

Just as Raven began becoming entranced with the T.V., Buck suddenly burst into the room, Jun following behind him quickly.

"Raven! There's trouble!"

"Is it spelled with a capital T? You know, like Trouble?"

"Hurry, get outside!" Jun snapped, grabbing Raven's arm and yanking her outside, although not before Pichu was able to jump onto her head.

He jabbed his other finger in the direction of the Battle Frontier, which… had several Pokémon flying up and away from the area. The sound of squawking Pokémon filled the air.

"W-what the…?"

Jun turned back to her. "Someone broke into the Battle Factory and began letting out all the rental Pokémon!"

"Oh, that's lovely. Great security, huh?"

"Come on, we've gotta catch the Pokémon!" Jun said and began trotting in place. "Come on! Or better yet, we gotta catch the person who let them loose!"

"Wait a sec now…" Raven said and began tapping the back of her head a couple of times. "Wait… Oh, okay, I flipped my 'hero mode' switch." At that, she began running off towards the Battle Frontier. "I'm ready now! Let's save the day!"

"Hey! No one said you get to get a head start of me!" Jun shouted, running after her angrily. "Hey! WAIT FOR ME!"

Buck sighed as he followed after the two trainers.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Author's Notes: This was a fun chapter to write. :3 Kinda. And yay for more suspicious people!

* * *

Chapter Twelve

The Battle Frontier was in mayhem. People were running around like headless chickens and the Pokémon were going crazy. If it wasn't bad enough that all the Battle Factory's Pokémon had been let loose, whoever did it had let out their own Pokémon to startle the Factory Pokémon.

"…How are we supposed to catch all these Pokémon?" Raven asked, standing at the Battle Frontier entrance and looked at the scene in shock.

"…You know, I'm not quite sure either," Jun said and shook his head. "But what matters right now is…"

He stopped and looked at Raven, who nodded.

"We gotta catch 'em all!"

Buck was horrified by their terrible line and could only shake his head.

Meanwhile, the workers at the Battle Factory were nearly losing their minds trying to figure out why or how this had happened. Thorton himself was probably the calmest out of them all, trying to get everyone under control.

"Just calm down! Hey!"

"Thorton!"

Thorton looked behind himself to see Pearl hurrying towards him.

"What's going on here?" she asked and Thorton sighed.

"Someone let out all the Pokémon. We've already tried returning the Pokémon to their Poké Balls but it isn't working for some reason."

Pearl quickly ducked as a Starly flew over her head. "This is terrible! And annoying! I swear, when I find who did this I'm going to kick their little-"

She stopped mid-sentence as something mysteriously wet landed on her head.

"Please tell me that that's not what I think it is," Pearl said, shutting her eyes tightly.

"It's not what you really hope it isn't?"

Pearl resisted the urge to scream as some form of Pokémon waste slid down her head.

"Um… anyways, I believe I know what the problem is," Thorton continued. "Whoever released the Pokémon must've made sure they couldn't return back to their Poké Balls… In other words, permanently releasing them out into the wild!"

"Wait, so if that's the case, can't we just re-catch them all?"

"Well, yeah, but there's way too many…"

"That's not a problem!" Pearl grinned, now completely ignoring the Pokémon waste on her head. "We'll just get everyone here to pitch in!"

Palmer had overheard this and hurried up to the Battle Tower's entrance, where he faced everyone and shouted, "Everyone! Get out your unused Poké Balls and catch these Pokémon! We gotta catch 'em all!"

"Catch all the Pokémon?" Raven asked from where she still stood at the entrance.

"Hah! This'll be easy then!" Jun said and nodded.

At that, random Poké Balls began being thrown left and right and up and down and… Well, yeah, you get the picture. Poké Balls were flying everywhere, catching any Pokémon they came into contact with. Of course, not all the Pokémon stayed in the Poké Balls at first, but eventually, they did.

After about 15 minutes of everyone trying to catch all the Pokémon, it appeared as though they'd finished it. Poké Balls lay everywhere, some of them holding Pokémon and some of them not.

"…Are we finished yet?" Raven asked, looking around at everything.

"I think so!" Jun exclaimed happily. "Yeah, we're totally awesome!"

Palmer returned to his spot at the entrance of the Battle Tower. "Alright everyone! We caught all of them!… Now, give all the Pokémon back to the Battle Factory workers!"

Despite some grumbling from people who wanted to keep the Pokémon they caught, everyone began picking up the Poké Balls and handing them to the finally calmed down Battle Factory workers.

As Raven handed several Poké Balls to one of the workers, she suddenly spotted something… No, someone, standing by the back of the Battle Factory. Now, because Raven is a big mouth who can't keep anything to herself for longer than 5 seconds, she immediately pointed in that direction and shouted…

"SUSPICIOUS PERSON AT 6 O' CLOCK! IT'S A FREE FOR ALL!"

That got everyone's attention, including the suspicious person's, and… Well, she shouted that it was a free for all, so everyone screamed and ran towards the person.

"Go, Pichu, Magnemite!" Raven shouted and let out the two electric-type Pokémon. "Catch that guy with Thunder Wave!"

They both nodded and, with Pichu jumping onto Magnemite, flew after the person. Once they were close enough to him, they both let out a stream of electricity, shocking the person.

Raven was the first person to catch up with them and walked up to where the person lay on the ground, still in shock from the… uh, shock.

"Who are you?" she asked, resisting the urge to step on the man.

"Ugh…" he grunted and slowly pushed himself up enough so he could glare at Raven. "We… We are…"

"…?"

"We are Neo Team Galactic!"

"…Team Galactic?"

"No, I said NEO Team Galactic."

"Oh. Okay," Raven said and nodded. "Okay…"

The man finally managed to stand up and reached at his side to grab a Poké Ball. "And we'll do anything to carry out Charon's orders!"

Pichu and Magnemite both jumped in front of Raven defensively as the man reached to his side. All of a sudden, something jumped out from among the trees and kicked him right in the face.

"Chu!"

"…? Oh, it's another Pichu!" Raven exclaimed. Sure enough, a Pichu was what had jumped out of the trees. However, it looked rather different when compared to Raven's Pichu; one of its ears had three little spikes of fur standing up.

The other Pichu looked extremely proud of itself as it began sitting on top of the man's head. Following after the Pichu, another man came out of the trees, walking up to them.

"Good job, Pichu!" he said and the Pichu jumped up onto the other man's shoulders. He then noticed Raven looking at him oddly. "…Hey, long time, no see! Do you remember me?"

"I feel like I do, yet at the same time, I don't," she said.

"Aw, that's too bad. Anyways, I'll tie up this guy here for you, 'kay? I'll look for any other Team Galactic grunts, too, while I'm at it. Oh, and by the way, don't mention that I was here, okay? Oh, well, I guess it doesn't really matter if you mention it if you don't remember who I am, right? Okay, do what you want!"

Raven just nodded absentmindedly as the other man took a rope out of his jacket and began tying up the Team Galactic member, who was apparently unconscious. That Pichu must've kicked him pretty hard…

After he finished tying him up, the man spun around and ran off, his Pichu clinging to his shoulder.

Raven heard the noise of people behind and looked over her shoulder to see Thorton, Jun, Dawn, and Pearl heading towards her.

"Hey, Raven, did you find that guy yet?" Jun asked and then noticed the tied up Team Galactic grunt. "Oh, hey, that's-!"

"You tied him up yourself, huh?" Pearl asked and pulled the rope. "Pretty tight too. Good job!"

Raven shook her head. "It… It wasn't me…"

"It wasn't? Did someone help you?"

"Yeah…"

"Who?"

Raven frowned. "It was…" she began and paused. "Dawn's dad! Dawn's dad came and helped me!"

In less than a second, Dawn had spun around and slapped Raven across the face.

Raven reached up to touch the spot where Dawn had slapped and looked at the girl, who seemed ready to slap her again.

"H-how dare you! My _dad_? Are you out of your freaking mind?"

At that, Dawn began running off back towards the Battle Frontier, leaving Pearl, Jun, Raven, and Thorton behind…


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Author's Notes: Derp. Lots of stuff goes on in this chapter. So don't skim through it or you might miss something!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

"Dawn's father died a couple of years ago," Jun said.

He, Pearl, Thorton, and Raven had given the tied up Galactic grunt to the police that had mysteriously gathered there and were now sitting outside of the Battle Tower. Well, only him, Pearl, and Thorton. Raven had disappeared off somewhere.

"He used to love traveling around everywhere. He died when he got caught in an avalanche in a mountain range somewhere."

"I see…" Pearl mumbled. "But, why would Raven say that it was Dawn's father who just helped her right now?"

Jun shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe she was delirious."

"In any case…" Thorton interrupted and got up. "It's a good thing that she caught that Team Galactic grunt, but we all need to keep a lookout for anymore of them. I can trust you two to do that, right?"

"Yep!"

"Then, I'll be heading back to the Battle Factory," he said, walking off towards the facility he ran.

"Hm…" Pearl mumbled and began thinking. "Dawn's probably pretty angry at Raven… We should try to go calm her down so she won't get angry the next time she sees Raven…"

"Yeah…"

* * *

"I can't believe she got so angry like that…"

Raven was out at the Survival Area, which could probably now be called her "Hang-out Area." She sat outside by the east exit of the route, apparently in a bad mood.

"It's true! I couldn't recognize him at first, but it was him! I'd recognize him from anywhere! But… He's dead, right?"

She shook her head. She really needed to stop talking out loud. Raven suddenly looked behind herself as she heard the sound of someone walking towards her.

"Hey, you're the kid that battled with Jun the other day, right? Remember me?"

Ah, that was one person she could remember and who wasn't dead. Volkner, the gym leader she and Jun had battled together against.

"Yeah…"

"Something wrong?"

"No."

"Liar."

Raven sighed. "Yeah, I know it. It's just… I got in a fight with one of my friends."

"Was it Jun?"

"No, it was Dawn. Do you know her?"

"Yep."

"Well, I got in a fight with her. I guess that's what it'd be called… But, I didn't mean for it to happen! You see, just now at the Battle Frontier, I spotted the person who'd let all those Pokémon out. And when I ran after him, I kinda realized that I wouldn't be able to stop him by myself. Then, some guy came out of nowhere and I knew I recognized him, and he helped me out by tying the guy up. But… the guy… He was…"

"He was…?"

"He was Dawn's dad! But Dawn's dad is dead! So… I knew it was him, and I told her that it was him, but she got angry and hit me! But… I'm absolutely positive that it was him!"

"How could it be him if he's dead?"

"…I don't know."

Volkner and Raven both sighed at the same time.

"…Maybe it was him," Volkner said and Raven looked at him oddly. "I mean, maybe it was, like, a ghost of him or something."

"No, no! He was solid! Er… You know… A Pokémon jumped onto his shoulder! And stayed there!"

"What kind of Pokémon was it?"

"A Pichu! With a weird looking ear!"

"Hmm… Maybe the Pichu was a ghost too?"

"No, no! The Pichu landed a kick on the Galactic grunt and totally knocked him out! It couldn't be a ghost!"

"Hmm… I honestly have no idea what it could've been then."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

And again the two both sighed at the same time as Volkner made his way over to sit next to Raven.

"Well, you can always make a wish that you and Dawn will make up tonight."

"Huh?"

"You didn't hear?" Volkner asked and pointed at the sky. "Tonight there's supposed to be a meteor shower. So I mean, you can make a wish on one of them."

Raven looked out at the route. Hmm… Meteor shower, huh?

* * *

After about an hour of climbing around, Raven finally made it to the top of a mountain that was off the exit of the Survival Area. However, much to her surprise, there were people up there.

"Hurry it up! We need to be prepared, you hear me?" an old man snapped at them. He then noticed that Raven was standing there, looking at them with a suspicious look.

"…What're you guys doing up here?" she asked.

The old man was at a loss for words. He couldn't think up a decent excuse right then.

A red haired girl stepped forward. "We're… setting things up for that meteor shower tonight, you know?"

"Ohhhh, I see."

"Yeah! Aha… Ahahah…"

"Can I help?"

The girl looked surprised. "Eh? You want to? You really want to?"

"Sure!"

The girl looked back at the old man, who simply shrugged.

"In that case… You can help us with setting things up! Here, take this and put it over there…"

Raven did as told, following the girl's orders and not even wondering for a second why some of them looked a lot like the guy they caught at the Battle Frontier…

After she'd run around and finished helping them, the girl walked over to her yet again.

"Hey, thanks for helping us!"

"Not a problem!" Raven said and waved good-bye to them, heading back down the mountain and back towards the Battle Frontier.

It wasn't until she was well past the Survival Area did she realize something.

"Oh, wait! I totally left the mountain! I wanted to stay up there! Crap!"

She sighed. There was no way she was going to go all the way back up there. Besides, it was already dark outside and…

"Oh!"

She looked up at the starry sky, seeing a white light suddenly streak across the sky.

Looking up at the sky, she suddenly realized something.

She'd never noticed how many millions of stars there were.

Raven wasn't at the Battle Frontier yet, but she didn't care as she simply sat down at the ground she was at, fixated at looking at the sky.

Sure enough, more lights began falling down, and pretty soon, it really was a meteor shower.

"Woooww!"

She looked away for a second to see if anyone else was around. It looked like she was all alone on the route. Too bad.

Raven shook her head and looked back towards the sky. Oh, there was a really bright one…

Raven frowned. That light wasn't going away. In fact, it was getting brighter, and… bigger?

All of a sudden, the ground began shaking and the entire area lit up brightly. The light quickly went away, but the shaking lasted for a couple more seconds.

Raven was in shock. What the heck was that…? Nearby, there was smoke rising from the ground.

Now, because Raven is not a very smart person, she ran towards the direction of the smoke to go check it out.

It took her barely a minute to reach the area. She waved her hand around in a sad attempt to make the smoke disappear.

There was a giant ditch that hadn't been there before on one of the routes many hills. Raven slid down into it, determined to find the source of the smoke and everything else.

Now she couldn't see at all after she jumped into the ditch. She was still sliding down it, but there was so much smoke she couldn't see.

She suddenly slammed into something and covered her eyes because of the bright light emitting from it. Once she got used to it, she was able to identify it.

It was a large, purple crystal.

"What's this?" she mumbled and reached down to pick it up. Despite its size, it was rather light.

Raven shrugged and held the rock to her chest, hurrying back up the ditch and off towards the Battle Frontier…

* * *

I've honestly never seen a meteor shower before, but I looked up videos of it on YouTube. :| Yep...


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Author's Notes: Um... this chapter is... I can't think of anything to say.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

"I wonder what this thing is…?"

Raven sat on a bed in the hotel room they were all staying in. It was completely dark in room, except for the lights from outside. Everyone else was gone; she'd seen Silver outside of the hotel and he'd told her they'd be staying out to watch the fireworks.

Apparently, this meteor shower was something big that everyone celebrated. Something about a millennium comet?

But anyways. She was still poking the rock. It was odd that it had crashed so close to where she was. But then again, too bad no one else was there to see it.

Raven mumbled something to herself and jumped off the bed, opening up the curtains to look outside. However, it was when she did that that something odd happened.

A bright light began glowing by the bed. In fact, the rock was what was glowing. It was glowing, almost like a heartbeat, but it didn't change at all.

Raven quickly closed the curtains and the glowing stopped. She opened them again and it began glowing again.

"Huh, that's odd…"

She left the curtains open and headed back towards the rock, sitting on the bed and placing it in her lap. However, when she placed her hands on the rock, she felt an odd tingling sensation in her head.

_Thank you…_

Raven snapped her hands off the rock. The heck was that voice…? She decided to try it out again, placing her hands slowly on the rock.

_Thank you…_

Raven gulped. The rock was talking? First she saw a dead man and now she's listening to a talking rock? Something must seriously be wrong with her head.

_Will you be my friend?_

"Um, sure?"

The voice laughed._ That's great! Is it nighttime right now?_

"Yeah…"

_Are you near a window?_

"Sort of… But why? Who are you and why can I only hear you when I touch a rock?"

_It's not just a rock! It's a crystal!_

"Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that. It's a shiny rock."

_No, it's a crystal! K-r-y-s-t-a-l!_

"Clearly you can't spell. I'm an idiot and I know crystal isn't spelt like that."

_Is that so? Well, anyways, bring me to the window!_

"No."

_Come on! Do it! Do it!_

Raven sighed. Having no idea why she was listening to what a rock was telling her what to do, she got off the bed and walked towards the window with the rock in her arms.

"Okay, I'm here-"

She barely managed to finish her sentence before the rock began glowing even brighter than it had already been. In a quick flash, the light disappeared.

And instead of a rock in Raven's arms, there was a little Pokémon instead.

"W-whoa!"

The Pokémon, whose body was white as well as its face, but had a yellow head that looked like half a star, looked up at Raven and grinned. "Hello!"

"Um, hello!"

Raven recognized the voice… That voice was the one she heard from the rock! So… wait, what did that even mean?

"Did you… um, come from that rock?"

"Yep!"

"So, who're you?"

"Jirachi!"

Raven paused, trying to think. Where had she heard that name before…?

Jirachi looked back towards the window, its mouth becoming a little half circle. "Wooow! What' going on down there?"

"Uh… I think it's a party or something…" Raven said and looked out the window. She spotted Palmer down there, doing dangerous things with fireworks. "I don't really know. There was a meteor shower earlier and… Well, that rock crashed, I picked it up and brought it here, then I heard a weird voice and then the rock turned into a Pokémon."

"Huh, is that so?"

"Um. Yeah, pretty much. Someone mentioned something about a Millennium Comet. What's that?"

"A comet… That comes once a millennium."

"No. Freaking. Way."

"Yes. Freaking. Way."

Jirachi wiggled out of her arms and began floating… rather, flying around the room. "Say, why's it so dark in here?"

"No particular reason…" Raven mumbled, watching it fly around the room. "I'm so confused right now…"

Jirachi landed on the bed and started jumping around on it. "What's this? It's so bouncy and stuff!"

"That's a bed."

Jirachi stopped and flew over to the T.V.. "How about this? What's this?"

"That's a T.V.."

Jirachi began pointing out anything it could think of in the room, which Raven quickly told it what it was. After it did that, it sat back on the bed again.

"…But you know, I already knew that."

"What? Then why'd you ask what it was?"

"Because I wanted to see if you yourself knew what it was. You answered all the questions correctly, that's a 100 percent! Congratulations!"

"Oh, thank you, thank you… No, wait! I'm still confused!"

Raven went to go sit on the bed and sat in front of Jirachi. "Okay, let me get this straight… You came from the Millennium Comet, right?"

"I guess you could say that, yes."

"Now, if the comet comes once a millennium, how would you know what all of that stuff was?"

"Oh, that's just a name. The Millennium Comet is usually visible in a certain region once every 7 years. Let's see, what region are we in right now?"

"Sinnoh."

"Sinnoh, huh? Interesting. Will you bring me exploring with you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Oh, thanks so much! Say, I'm getting hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

"Sure, what do you want…? Wait a second, you reversed the questioning session onto me! That's cheating!"

Raven began tapping the side of her head. "Ugh, this is so… You're confusing me too much."

"Is that so?"

"It is so."

"…"

"…"

Just then, Raven remember where she'd heard Jirachi's name before. "Waaaait a second, you're a legendary Pokémon!"

"Damn right."

"So, like, if someone else were to see you…"

"No need to worry about that!" Jirachi said happily and quickly began wrapping itself with the yellow streamer-like things on its back. "One of my seven different skills! Skill number 3: Backpack!"

After a couple of seconds of doing something odd, it stopped moving. And it… really did look just like a backpack. The little streamers on its back were looped together to looked like the straps of a backpack…

"Just wear me on your back! You know, people will just think I'm a totally awesome backpack and you're a simple Jirachi fan girl!"

"…"

Nevertheless, Raven picked up Jirachi, put her arms through its streamer/straps and began walking out of the room. She really hoped that this would work…


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Author's Notes: Pokémon Contest time! Weeeee! I was kinda confused on how I'd write it out, but I think I did okay. :3

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Jirachi's disguise worked better than she thought it would.

As she began walking down the hotel hallway, she spotted Silver walking towards their room. He waved to her and said, "I was getting ready to come and get you. Pearl ordered me to…"

He stopped and looked at her backpack.

"Um…"

"It's a backpack!" she quickly said and he nodded.

"Oh. Okay…"

He turned around and began walking in the opposite direction with Raven following behind him obediently. It took only about a minute before they reached the exit, heading outside to where everyone was enjoying themselves.

"…Whoa. Talk about getting excited," Raven said.

Silver nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'd prefer to stay inside but… well, I know that everyone else would come and force me outside…"

He then looked behind himself to see that Raven had run off somewhere. "Ah!… She left…"

Raven was hiding behind the building and shaking Jirachi around like it was a rag doll.

"Don't start eating my hair! I forbid it!"

"You never stated it before! Sorry, it tasted so good!"

"No it doesn't! It does not!" At that, she stopped shaking Jirachi around and put it back on her back. "Anyways, don't make yourself stand out! We don't need people to notice you, 'kay?"

"Fine, fine…"

Raven sighed as she walked out from behind the building, only to end up running into someone standing there.

"Whoa! Sorry!" she said and quickly moved around the person. However, she then stopped. "…Oh, Dawn?"

"…Hi."

Dawn frowned and looked down at the ground. "Um… sorry about earlier… You know…"

"Ah, no, it's okay!…"

Ah, the joys of uncomfortable silence. How it makes normal situations seem… not normal.

"…So, did you really see him?"

"Huh?"

"My dad, I mean. Did you… really see him?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah, I'm absolutely sure it was him! But it was odd… He was asking me if I remembered him, and then said not to mention his appearance to anyone… Oh, wait, I just did! Crap!"

Dawn laughed slightly. "…In any case, did you see the meteor shower? It was so cool, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was!"

"Say, do you want to go compete in one of Hearthome City's Pokémon contests tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure, sure!"

Ah, how easily those two made up. The joys of friendship knock this imaginary narrator right off her/his feet!

* * *

Ahhh, the next day. Sunny, as usual.

Raven had managed to do a decent job of hiding Jirachi by simply shoving it in her backpack and telling it to keep still.

Today, the group all decided they were going to go to Hearthome City to take part in the Pokémon contests there. After having considered it a bit, Raven decided to bring Jirachi along in case someone tried to kidnap him.

She's a bit paranoid, isn't she?

But anyways… They flew to Hearthome City with Dawn in the lead (and Jun predictably trying to race her).

Soon enough, the large city came into view and their Pokémon quickly flew down to the Pokémon Center there, landing in front of it.

"Here we are, everyone!" Dawn announced, hopping off her Togekiss. "Hearthome City!"

"Wow, it's so…" Pearl began and clasped her hands. "It makes me want to go shopping!"

"Right?"

"Yeah!"

"Enough!" Jun shouted and began shaking his head around. "Honestly, you two are such… women!"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly, Jun. What'd you say?"

"Nothing, it was nothing!"

"Anyways," Dawn said and began walking off, motioning for the others to follow. "Let's go! The Contest Hall is nearby!"

The group followed her to a fancy-looking circular building with clear glass doors. They walked up to the doors, which opened automatically.

The inside had several counters with people behind them, talking to those apparently wanting to enter a contest. A wall had several photos of Pokémon wearing costumes, standing next to their trainers.

"Ahh, I shouldn't have agreed to this," Raven mumbled and grabbed her head. "The fanciness is killing me! Oh god!"

Dawn gave her a look of annoyance. "Just relax, will you?… Which reminds me, you don't have anything appropriate to wear, do you?"

"…? What?"

Just then, someone ran up them with a happy expression on their face. "Hey, Dawn! Nice to see you guys here!"

"Oh, hi, Zoey!" Dawn greeted and looked back at the others. "Zoey, I think you remember Raven, but these are our other friends! Let's see, from left to right, Gold, Silver, Lyra, Pearl, Yellow, and Brendan!"

"Nice to meet you all!" Zoey said. "You guys entering a Pokémon contest? The next one starts at 11:00, just to let you know."

"Yeah, we're all going to! Which reminds me…" Dawn said and grabbed Raven, pulling her over to stand in front of her. "You wouldn't happen to have any outfits that would fit her, would you?"

* * *

"Annddd, there we go!" Zoey exclaimed and stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding. "Yup, yup, looks good!"

Raven was dressed in a black suit, pulling at the sleeves uncertainly. "…Um… Why am I…"

"You have to dress up for contests, that's why!" Dawn answered, standing next to Zoey and nodding as well. "You look good in that! You're better suited for guy clothes than girl clothes."

"…But… It's…"

"What?"

"…Too formal looking."

Dawn sighed and Zoey began laughing. Just then, someone else walked into the dressing room they were in.

Pearl stood there, wearing a light blue dress that reached down to her knees. She spun around in a circle and winked. "How do I look?"

"Ohhh, that looks really nice on you! It's so pretty!"

"You think so? I'm going to wear it for the contest!"

While Dawn and Pearl continued having their conversation, Raven picked up Jirachi, who she'd set aside. It'd been dutifully pretending to be a doll, and Raven figured she should give it a break before it permanently stayed like that.

She hurried out of the room, trying to find somewhere where there wasn't any people. In her hurry, she ended up slamming into a woman, and quickly apologized before taking a second look at the woman.

"Wait a sec… Where have I seen you?"

"Ah, you're…" the woman began and nodded. "You're Raven, from the Hoenn Pokémon League tournament, correct? My name's Diane, I was also in the tournament."

"Ohhh, yeah, I remember you! Wait… why are you even here?"

She smiled. "To compete in the Pokémon contests here, of course! I completed all of Hoenn's Pokémon contests, but then I heard about the ones in Sinnoh, so I came here to compete in them."

"Is that so…" Raven mumbled. "Oh, that's right! Where's that other guy… um, Butler, that was his name, right?"

"He's around here somewhere… He decided to compete in one of today's contests before he left to do some work…"

"…Work?"

"Ah, yes, it's nothing much," Diane said and began shaking her head. "Anyways, I'll be on my way now… Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Raven added and began heading back to the room she'd been in with Dawn and Zoey, having completely forgotten why she'd left in the first place. Meanwhile, Jirachi was soon enough going to be stuck permanently as a backpack…

* * *

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" an announcer shouted. "We are about to get under way with this normal rank Pokémon cute contest! I'm Dexter, and I'll be serving as the MC and as one of the judges! The results of judging will be announced at the end, so please bear with me!"

He then turned back to the four people standing in a line behind him. "Let me introduce our contestants! Entry number 1! Here's Pearl!"

The crowd began clapping and camera flashes as Pearl, still wearing the light blue dress from earlier, curtsied to them.

"Next, it's entry number 2! Dawn!"

Dawn, dressed in a white dress with a pink shawl around her shoulders, also curtsied as the crowd cheered some more.

"Entry number 3! Raven!"

Raven was surprisingly nervous as she quickly bowed as the crowd continued cheering.

"And last but not least, entry number 4! Gold!"

Gold, wearing a white tuxedo, winked at the crowd, spun around and bowed. This earned him squeals from females in the crowd.

"Let's begin by having everyone get in proper attire for evaluations. Contestants, dress up your Pokémon for the Visual Competition!"

As the four of them quickly rushed backstage, they each took out the one Pokémon they'd be using in the competition. Each of them was blocked from seeing the others by a curtain.

"You have 60 seconds to dress up your Pokémon with accessories. Match the theme and earn higher scores! OK, our theme this time is… The Created! Again, the time limit is 60 seconds and you are allowed to use 5 accessories! Your fashion sense is on trial! Begin dressing up now!"

Raven quickly looked at the box of accessories they were allowed to use and then looked at the Pokémon she was using; Piplup. "Ah, what do I do? I don't know what kind of theme The Created is!"

"Ah, jeez, you're hopeless!" Piplup snapped and began looking through the accessories with her. "Um… here, let's use this, this, this, and… this!"

A minute had finished and Dexter began announcing once again. "Alright, thanks for your patience! Let's begin the Visual Competition! Entry number 1... Pearl! Pearl is entering this contest with Minun!"

The curtain on the stage opened up and Pearl stepped out with the Pokémon she'd chosen; Minun. Minun was wearing a ribbon on one ear, and held two brown fluffs in each of its hands.

The crowd cheered and a couple whistled as Minun stood there, spinning around and apparently modeling to the crowd.

"Entry number 2! Dawn! Dawn has entered this contest with Togekiss!"

The curtain opened once again and Dawn stepped out with her Togekiss, who was wearing a black top-hat on its head, an orange flower on one wing and a yellow one on the other.

The crowd clapped and cheered and… well, you get the picture, right?

"Entry number 3! Raven! Raven is in this contest with Piplup!"

The curtain rose and Raven stumbled out with Piplup… who was wearing a pair of sunglasses, a mustache, and a pink feather on the center of his head.

The crowd sort of/kind of/didn't really clapped, and Piplup screeched.

"This is a freaking masterpiece! What kind of theme is The Created anyways? HUH?"

However, Piplup's shouting was cut short as Dexter continued talking.

"And finally, entry number 4! Gold! Gold's hope rides with Aibo!"

The curtain rose for the final time as Gold stepped out, a purple monkey Pokémon following him. Much like Togekiss had, it wore a top-hat on its head and held a couple of pink balloons in its tail, the end which resembled a hand.

The crowd cheered as it skipped around happily before returning to Gold's side.

"The Dance Competition is next! Is everyone up and ready for this?"

For the next part, the four of them were each given some castanets and were told that, starting with Pearl, followed by Dawn, Raven, and Gold, they were each to stand in the center of the stage and use the castanets to tap to the beat of the song and dance with their Pokémon. The other three were to follow the center dancer's dancing as well as they could, and once it was their turn, dance however they wanted.

"OK, let's get this part under way! Let's start the music!"

The music began playing and Pearl began clapping the castanets to the beat of the music. Minun began dancing to the music, and the other three quickly attempted to imitate its dancing as well as they could.

"Okay, switch!"

They all quickly switched places, leaving Dawn as the main dancer. Togekiss performed a series of dance moves, which the other Pokémon had a little more trouble imitating.

"Switch!"

This time, Raven was the lead dancer and… well, her ability to clap with the rhythm was terribly off. Piplup was getting confused from her misleading tapping and attempted to dance as well as he could. The other Pokémon struggled to imitate his rhythm-less dancing.

"Switch!"

Finally, Gold was left. His Pokémon danced much better than Piplup had, spinning around on its tail a couple of times.

The music finally ended and Dexter said, "And that's the end of the Dance Competition! Leading in points right now is Pearl! We'll now have a 15-minute break to let the contestants get ready for the final round: The Acting Competition!"

The four of them hurried backstage to take their break.

Raven hurried back to the room she'd left Jirachi in and took it in her arms. "Sorry, Jirachi! Which reminds me… Couldn't you have relaxed while I was gone?"

Jirachi let out a sigh. "It's not that easy, you know! People kept coming in and out, and I had to keep switching back and forth!"

"Well, sorry! Relax while you can, okay? Wanna go outside?"

"Yeah, yeah! Let's go, let's go!"

Raven spun around to leave the room and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw.

Someone was standing in the doorway.

Which meant that they had probably heard Jirachi talking and seen it moving around.

"D-D-Diane!" Raven stammered and began laughing loudly. "T-this isn't what it looks like! I swear! Um, this here… It's one of those talking dolls, you know? You squeeze 'em and they talk! L-like this!"

Raven squeezed Jirachi, who did its best electronic voice impression, and said, "I love you!"

"…That's a Jirachi, isn't it?" Diane asked, surprisingly calm compared to the nearly hysterical Raven.

Who was now on the verge of tears. "P-p-please don't tell anyone!"

"Relax! Don't cry! Come on, chin up! It's fine, I won't tell anyone, just relax!"

"Y-y-you won't?"

"I won't! Say, I saw you in the contest just now! You're doing really well!"

Raven was practically bawling. "N-n-no I'm not! I can't dance and I have the fashion sense of a dead Rattatta!"

"Stop crying!" Jirachi said and covered its mouth. "Oh, wait, I'm not supposed to talk! No, wait, don't keep crying! Stop! I demand for you to stop!"

Well, it pretty much went on like that. Soon enough, Diane and Jirachi managed to calm Raven down, and by the time that happened, it was already time for the contest to continue again. And so, she had to hurry as fast as she could back to the stage, where Piplup was waiting and shouting at her angrily.

Meanwhile, Diane had headed back to the seating area of the crowd, sitting down next to a purple haired man.

"Butler…" she began and started whispering in his ear.

"Hm? A kid has Jirachi? Well, that's an interesting turn of events, isn't it…?"

* * *

Oho, I smell a bit of trouble? :D By the way, Zoey, Butler, and Diane are all characters from the anime. I enjoy destroying boundaries between the manga/anime/games.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Author's Notes: Yadayada, the end of the contest, and some simple chapter fillers. You can skip it, if you want.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

"Okay, it's time for the Acting Competition! Each trainer will come out by themselves and perform four moves to the judges! They then will move backstage and the next one will come out! After all four have performed, the judges will grade their performances from all three parts and announce the winner! Remember, four performances each! Let's begin! Pearl, please come out!"

Pearl came out from behind the curtain with Minun, not a hint of hesitation as she ordered the moves for her Pokémon. "First, start with Charge, followed by Spark!"

Minun began charging electricity for a short moment before coating itself with the electricity it charged and dashed forwards.

"Now! You know what to do: Swift!"

While still charging forwards, Minun shot out several star shaped objects in a circular pattern and in front of itself. Still using Spark, it dashed through the star objects, causing them and the electricity to combine and cause a small explosion. It landed on the ground, waiting for its final move.

"Use Charm!"

Minun quickly winked at everyone, getting cheers and squeals from nearly everyone.

"That's the end of Pearl's performance! Alright, Pearl, please move backstage! Next up, Dawn!"

As Pearl and Minun hurried backstage, Dawn came out with her Togekiss.

"Okay… Togekiss, let's start with Water Pulse! And then, Extrasensory!"

Togekiss flew into the air, opening its mouth and shooting a ring of water down at the stage. Its eyes then began to glow and the water ring broke apart and water poured over the stage.

"Now, use Water Pulse again, but follow it up with Flamethrower!"

Yet again, Togekiss shot a ring of water out, following it by blowing fire out of its mouth, aiming it to go through the ring's hole. The heat was hot enough to cause the water ring to turn into steam, which is exactly what happened.

"Dawn has finished her performance! Alright, let's have Raven come out next!"

Raven quickly hurried out with Piplup, already having planned what to do. "Okay, Piplup! Let's use Dig, then jump out and use Whirlpool! Follow that with Drill Peck, and then Bubblebeam!"

Piplup nodded, quickly digging underground and popping out a bit away, spinning around to make a whirlpool not even a second after coming out the hole. He quickly tossed the whirlpool and, while still spinning, shot through the whirlpool, disrupting its spinning and causing it to splash all over the stage. Piplup then followed that up with a stream of bubbles that floated across the stage.

"What a combo! Raven has also finished her performance! Finally, let's have Gold come out!"

Gold hurried out with his Pokémon, quickly ordering, "Use Double Team, and then Swift!"

The purple monkey Pokémon quickly made several copies of itself before swinging its tail to send several star shaped objects out. The stars collided with the copies it made of itself, causing the copies to disappear.

"Use Swift again, and then Focus Punch!"

Once again, it swung its tail to send out stars. This time, the hand on its tail… Er, its hand-tail balled up into a fist and swung towards the stars to punch them, causing the stars to collide together and disappear.

"And that's the end of Gold's performance! All right everyone, please wait while the judges rack up the scores for our contestants!"

Gold hurried backstage to meet up with the other three girls.

"Gold, that was so cool! Your Aipom is so cute!"

"No, no, it was nothing! Aibo's never been in a contest before, so we were both kinda unsure what to do… Which reminds me! Dawn, your Togekiss is awesome too! And Pearl, your Minun rocks! Oh, Raven, you and Piplup were good too!"

"No I wasn't!" Raven cried and once again was on the verge of tears. "I suck!"

"No, no! Don't cry! Ahaha, your acting performance rocked!"

"Does that mean my dancing and dressing up sucked?"

"Ah, no, er, well…"

Gold was saved by the timely interruption by the announcer. "All right, folks! Let's have our contestants come back on the stage!"

The four of them quickly hurried back out on the stage with their Pokémon, standing together in a line like they'd done at the start of the contest.

"4th place… Raven!"

Raven sniffed loudly. "…"

"3rd place… Pearl!"

Pearl nodded slightly, trying to ignore the practically bawling Raven.

"2nd place… Dawn!"

Dawn let out the sigh she'd apparently been holding. Meanwhile, Gold was looking ecstatic.

"And 1st place is Gold!"

The crowd began cheering loudly as Gold and his Aipom both bowed. Dexter walked up to the two, holding a ribbon in his hand.

"For your win, we present you with this here ribbon! Congratulations!"

Gold took the ribbon and spun around, striking a pose with it in his hand. Judging by the bright flashes coming from the crowd, people were taking pictures of him.

"All right folks! Our next contest starts at 12:15! Be sure to be there!"

* * *

"…I totally suck…"

Raven sat in a corner in Hearthome City's Pokémon Center, apparently a bit depressed over her loss of the contest.

Meanwhile, Jun wasn't helping with cheering her up.

"You should've known better! We all know your fashion sense is worse than Lucas's, that you have as much rhythm as a rock, and that you can't battle to save your life!"

"My fashion sense is bad?"

That was Lucas.

"I can battle better than you, Jun! After all, who won their first Frontier Brain battle, and who was it that-"

That was Raven, who was cut off by Jun, who'd become enraged at the "Frontier Brain battle" part and was pulling on her hair.

So as Raven and Jun continued their fist fight, Gold was being surrounded by the fans he'd gathered at the contest.

"Ahaha, it was my first contest too! Oh, yeah, you think so? Nah, I'm more of a battle guy, to tell the truth…"

"Looks like Gold has his own fan-club now, huh?" Pearl asked. She sat at a table with Dawn, the two of them eating some food.

"I guess so!" Dawn agreed and nodded. "Being in Pokémon contests is an easy way to get some fans!"

"Yeah, but…" Pearl began and looked over at where Jun and Raven were still beating the Sitrus berries out of each other. "…Raven, you aren't very good at contests, are you?"

Raven managed to kick Jun away long enough so she could stand back up. "It doesn't matter! Contests are girly anyways! I'm more for the battles!"

"Yeah, totally!" Jun agreed and stood up. "You and I are total brothers!"

"Yeah!"

The two both bumped fists, earning themselves odd looks from Dawn and Pearl.

"Weren't you two just practically killing each other a moment ago?"

"Raven, fix your clothes, will you? Your underwear is showing."

Raven frowned and attempted to fix her shirt before simply giving up.

"Anyways, what do we do now?"

"…Wanna go back to Twinleaf Town?" Dawn asked. "I was thinking about visiting my mom…"

"Oh, sure, let's go, let's go!"

Dawn sighed. "Alright. Pearl, you wanna come too?"

"Sure! We'll just leave anyone who's participating in the next contest behind."

So it was decided that Pearl, Dawn, Jun, Raven, and Gold would go to Twinleaf Town. The others were staying behind in Hearthome City to compete in and watch the next contest.

* * *

Twinleaf Town was a small town surrounded by lots of trees. There were only a couple of houses there.

"So this is where you used to live, huh?" Pearl asked. They'd flown to Twinleaf Town and were now walking around the small place.

"Yep, yep!" Raven said happily and pointed at a couple of houses. "I used to jump from my house to Dawn's! And to Jun's house too, 'cause his was on the other side of Dawn's."

"What about Lucas?"

"His house is a bit farther away," Raven said and pointed to a nearby house. It would be physically impossible to jump all that way, which was probably why she didn't mention it at first.

"I was so used to waking up and finding one of them sitting in my room that it didn't… no, it still doesn't bother me at all," Dawn commented, nodding slightly. "Mom wasn't even bothered by it either…"

"Which reminds me…" Pearl began and looked at Raven in annoyance. "You broke into our house the day after you moved there!"

"It's your fault for not locking the windows."

"Don't give me that crap! Normal people don't break into other people's houses! Especially if they don't even know them!"

"Hey! I'm perfectly normal!"

"Yeah, Raven's totally normal!" Jun added.

"Anyways…" Dawn said and stopped in front of her house. "Here we are!"

She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. It didn't take too long before the door opened, revealing a blue haired woman wearing an apron around her waist. She smiled at the sight of them, opening the door wider.

"Come on in!"

The group all walked inside and the woman closed the door after them. "Dawn, these are your friends, correct? It's nice to meet you all, my name's Johanna."

"It's very nice to meet you, Johanna!" Pearl said and smiled at her. "I'm Pearl!"

"And I'm Gold!" Gold added and looked around the house. It was very neat, with a table near a counter that separated it from the kitchen. A T.V. was nearby, as well as a smaller table near it and a couch. Over by a wall, several photos were hanging.

Johanna looked at Raven for a moment before saying, "…Raven, is that you or are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

"Hi, Mom!" said Raven and quickly ran to give her a hug.

"Hey, she's not your mom," Pearl reprimanded but Raven ignored her.

"I was just cleaning some things right now, but feel free to make yourselves at home!"

"Thank you, Miss, uh, Johanna!"

That was Pearl, using her manners. No one else had any manners, so they didn't say anything as they all plopped themselves down around the house.

Gold was apparently more interested in the photos on the wall, looking at all of them with a curious expression. "Who's this lady here?" he asked, pointing to one photo of a young girl holding a trophy and standing next to a gray cat Pokémon.

"Ah, that's…" Johanna began and looking at the photo he was pointing at. "That's me, when I won my first Master Rank Pokémon contest!"

"Wow, really?" Gold asked, apparently in awe. Or feigning it. But anyways, he pointed to another picture; one of a man and what looked like the same woman from the previous picture. "What about this one?"

"That one… is me and my husband."

"Oh? Where is he now?"

Gold then noticed the hand movements that Pearl, Jun, and Raven were making… Pearl waving her hands around, Jun making a motion that resembled chopping his head off, and Raven simply putting a finger over her mouth and shaking her head.

"…He's traveling!" Johanna answered. Gold raised his eyebrows and looked at the other three.

"Oh, okay… My dad is… never mind!" Gold said and started laughing. "Anyways, we're going back to the Battle Frontier later, right? There was something I wanted to buy at one of the prize stands…"

Gold is the king of conversation changing.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Author's Notes: A lot goes on in this chapter. So don't skip it or anything. Yeeeahhh. :|

My favorite character is the Birchmobile! :D

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

"Ugh… Why is it so hot here?"

That was Raven, whining about the sudden increase in temperature as they went back to the Battle Zone.

"You're right… It's totally not natural!"

That was Jun, agreeing with her about the heat.

Apparently, these two had nothing better to discuss as they sat on their Pokémon flying back to the Battle Zone.

"Oh, be quiet, will you?" Pearl snapped and let out a sigh. "Oh, hey, looks like there's a ship dropping off more people… Can't I get some freaking peace and quiet?"

Pearl was starting to join Jun and Raven on the same level of annoyingness.

As their Pokémon flew down to the Pokémon Center in the Fight Area, someone began running towards them.

"Raven!~"

"…?"

All of a sudden, Raven was tackled by a brown haired girl wearing a green bandana. The girl hugged her tightly, swinging her around a couple of times.

"I haven't seen you in forever!"

"…" Jun looked at Pearl. "…Who's that?"

"That's Nami, Raven's girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Raven snapped and tried to push her away. "Get off of me! Get off!"

"Come on, give me a kiss! Pucker up!"

"Oh, hell no! Why are you even here?"

"'Cause I came here on a boat with Wally and the professor, of course!"

All of a sudden, Pearl and Brendan seemed to become pale. "…Why did he come here?"

"He said something about wanting to show all of Sinnoh his totally awesome Birchmobile?"

"Oh no! Oh, no, no, no, no!" Pearl cried, falling to the ground and covering her face. "Not the Birchmobile!"

"…What's the Birchmobile?" Lucas asked.

Just as Brendan turned around to answer him, they all stopped at the sound of screeching tires. People jumped out of the way as a jeep drove off of the boat at the dock, racing down the ramp and screeching around on the tiny streets.

"Look at it! Look at the Birchmobile!"

"No, no, no, no!" Pearl screamed and was now laying on the ground, practically crying. "Why? Can't I enjoy a normal summer without that stupid car?"

The jeep screeched to a stop in front of the group. The man driving the car pushed up the pair of sunglasses he wore and gave them the thumbs-up sign.

"Yo!"

A green haired boy sat in the other seat, nearly unconscious. "I-I… I'm so sorry…" he muttered.

"Wally!" Raven exclaimed and hurried over to the boy, opening the door and taking him out. "Are you alive? Are you?"

"Y-yeah…" he mumbled and looked up at Raven. "Ah! Raven! Hi!"

"Did Professor Birch kill you with his mad driving skills?"

"Uh, k-kinda…"

"Are you mocking my driving skills?" Professor Birch asked.

"No, not at all."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jun snapped and began shaking his head. "Wait a sec… Who is this guy? He's not really a professor, is he?"

"I really am!" Professor Birch added and began nodding quickly. "I'm certified!"

"…"

"…I know, that's what I said!" Raven said and began nodding. "I couldn't believe it either!"

"…You're hurting my feelings, you know," Professor Birch whined and began patting his car. "Anyways, I'm off to show all of Sinnoh the Birchmobile!"

Pearl finally pushed herself up from the ground. "Wait a second! Why are you here?"

"Well, I got a call from the professor in this region… Uh, Professor Rowan was his name, I think. He said something about wanting to meet me… So we can talk about my awesome car."

"He didn't say that."

"I know. But he did invite me here. Said he wanted to talk about something. So I decided to invite Wally and Nami too. 'Cause they were there. So when you have lemons, you make lemonade!"

"What does that even have to do with anything?"

"I dunno. Thought I'd try to help."

"You're not!"

Professor Birch made some kind of sulking face before slamming down on the gas pedal and nearly running them over. "Then I'll just leave!"

At that, he drove away, swerving around and yet again nearly hitting people.

"…There's something wrong with that guy," Jun finally said after they all stood there in silence.

"I can't believe he's our father," Pearl grumbled.

"What? That's not game canon!"

"…What?"

"Oh, nothing, I just wanted to say that."

"…"

"Anyways!" Raven shouted and raised her hand in the air. "I'm going to the Survival Area!"

"Okay, you go do that," Brendan said and grabbed both Nami and Wally by their shoulders. "Anyways, you two, let's go get you some Frontier Passes. You know, so you can battle here. Oh, by the way, Pearl's going to want to steal the points you earn so…"

Nami and Wally looked at each other and then shrugged, following after Brendan.

* * *

In truth, Raven wasn't really going to the Survival Area. Well, if you wanted to be specific, she passed through it… And began heading to Stark Mountain.

Ever since the previous day, something had been slightly bothering her. The people she had seen at Stark Mountain setting things up. Who were they? She hadn't even really thought about it until they went to Hearthome City.

Those people… Their outfits matched the description Detective Handsome had given her about Team Galactic! That would mean that Team Galactic was at Stark Mountain, and were still there while the other Team Galactic grunt messed around at the Battle Frontier!

Of course, the question was if they were still there.

She was being careful not to trip while walking around; one wrong move and she'd fall into a pool of lava. Speaking of, was that lava there yesterday? She couldn't remember…

All of a sudden, she spotted a group of people ahead talking to a boy… Oh, it was Buck! And those guys were… Team Galactic!

"Hey, Buck!" she shouted and ran towards him. Buck turned around to look at her before looking back at the Team Galactic grunts.

"Raven, wait!"

Raven was apparently to slow to hear his warning. Several Team Galactic grunts jumped behind her, apparently having come from above, and grabbed her. One of them took out a rope and began tying her hands behind her back.

"H-hey! Wait!"

While Buck had turned around, the grunts in front him grabbed him and also tied his hands behind his back. Once they were sure that the two of them were both tied up tightly, one of them began talking into a earpiece he wore.

"We've captured two people! What should we do with them?… Okay, roger!" he said and turned back to the others. "We're to bring them to Charon!"

"Right!"

They arranged themselves in an order so that Buck and Raven were in the center of them and began walking off somewhere.

"…Crap, this sucks…" Raven muttered. "I wish my delayed reaction wasn't so… delayed."

"It's fine, I'll get us out!" Buck whispered back. "I just… haven't quite thought of it yet."

Soon enough, they reached the entrance of a cave, which they were led into. A old man stood there, apparently waiting for them.

"Here they are, sir!"

"Ah, thank you," he said and began laughing loudly. "Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Charon, and I am the leader of Team Galactic!"

"…I'm so stupid…" Raven grumbled and looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at him. "What do you guys even want, huh?"

"Well, initially, we were here to capture the legendary Pokémon that sleeps here… But then, we heard about a certain event that was going to take place near here, so we changed our plans to capture the Pokémon that was going to fall to Earth here in Sinnoh! Its name is Jirachi, or so I'm told!

"However, we didn't manage to capture it when it was supposed to land during last night's meteor shower. So, we changed our plans back to capturing Heatran!"

"Okay, one: what's the point of capturing Heatran? Two: why are you telling all of this to us?"

Charon sighed and began shaking his head. "Don't you understand it? I'll use it to strengthen Team Galactic! No, not just by having a legendary Pokémon in our hands… We'll sell it!"

"…Sell it?"

"That's right! Just imagine how much money we could get from a Pokémon like Heatran… With that money, we could control the whole world!"

"You know, I think there're a couple of loose screws in your head."

"Oh, shut your mouth! You don't understand it because you're just a child… But anyways, to answer your second question, it doesn't matter what I tell you because you're both going to die today!"

"Ah, I'm trembling in my boots. If I was wearing boots, but I'm not! Hah!"

Charon was clearly becoming irritated from Raven's annoying comments. "We'll see how you'll change once I remove the Magma Stone and wake up Heatran! Then you'll truly be afraid!"

Raven smirked. "I've faced worse things that Heatran. I'll be fine. But anyways…"

At that, she lifted her arms up, the ropes falling to the ground. "You should watch what's happening, or you would've noticed what I was doing."

Buck also lifted his arms, the ropes falling. "Yeah, what she said!"

"What? How did you escape from those ropes!"

"I untied them, that's all," Raven answered.

"…Tch, I wasn't expecting that. Mars, Jupiter! Come out here!"

From farther back in the cave, two girls came towards them; the taller of the two had purple hair and the shorter with red hair. They both reached to their sides and took out a single Poké Ball, letting out their Pokémon.

The Galactic grunts surrounding them also sent out their own Pokémon, all of which were of the same species; purple, skunk-like Pokémon. The purple haired girl had sent out a bigger, skunk-like Pokémon while the other girl had sent out a large, gray cat-like one.

"Ganging up on us, huh?" Buck asked and looked at Raven. "Let's send out all of our Pokémon!"

Raven nodded and quickly tossed her Poké Balls, letting out all six of her Pokémon. Buck also sent out all five of his Pokémon, a yellow and red turtle-like Pokémon, a tall brown Pokémon with several red eyes, a black Pokémon with yellow rings on its body, a red and black turtle-like Pokémon, and a tall, ghost-like Pokémon.

"Piplup, Whirlpool! Cherrim, Magical Leaf! Guru-n, Psycho Cut! Chao, Grass Knot! Magnemite, Thunder Wave! Pichu, Thunder Shock!"

"Shuckle, Toxic! Umbreon, Dark Pulse! Dusknoir, Thunder Punch! Torkoal, Earthquake! Claydol, Ancient Power!"

As the 11 Pokémon all simultaneously attacked, all of Team Galactic's Pokémon simply lunged at them, biting, scratching, just randomly attacking however they could.

It didn't take too long before they had knocked out all but the two girls' Pokémon. Of course, now it was just two Pokémon against eleven, so it wouldn't take too long to knock those two out…

"…Ah, he's gone," said Raven, looking around quickly. "That old chubby guy disappeared!"

"That's right, our boss left to go get Heatran!" one of the grunts said and grabbed another Poké Ball. "We'll be keeping you busy for now!"

"You're getting on my nerves…" Raven grumbled.

"Hey, you. Kid."

Raven looked over at the red haired girl, who'd spoken to her just now. "What?"

"Go after Charon, got it?"

"…Huh?"

"I said go after Charon! Are you stupid or something?"

"W-wait… I thought that… Aren't you with…"

"Just now, I had a sudden change of plans. You know, Team Galactic just isn't the same when Cyrus isn't leading it… So, go get Charon, got it? I'll keep everyone else here!"

Raven seemed confused but nevertheless ran around her, her Pokémon tailing after her quickly. Meanwhile, the Team Galactic grunts seemed confused.

"Mars! You've suddenly become a traitor!"

"We'll take care of you! You'll be sorry!"

The girl, Mars, sighed and looked at Buck. "Will you help me beat down these idiots?"

Buck also seemed confused but nodded. "You bet!"

The purple haired girl, Jupiter, let out a sigh. "I had to admit it… But Mars is right. I'll help you too."

"Ah! Jupiter's betrayed us too!"

"Traitors! They're both traitors!"

Raven continued hurrying through Stark Mountain, which was hotter in there than it was outside. She was being careful not to fall or anything like that, but she didn't see Charon anywhere. For an old man, he must've been really quick…

She soon spotted the sight of two Team Galactic grunts standing at the entrance of another cavern. They also saw her and quickly sent out their Pokémon to stop her.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

"Got it!" Piplup answered and quickly spun around, creating the whirlpool and then tossing it at the approaching Pokémon. They were both knocked backwards and were now unconscious from the single.

The two grunts quickly glanced at each other before running inside the cavern, probably to tell Charon that they'd lost. Raven followed after them quickly.

However, stepping into the cavern, she was greeted with an extremely hot temperature, hot enough to make her immediately step back outside the cavern.

Inside the cavern, Charon had kicked off a flaming stone that rested on top of a mound in the center of it. Apparently, moving the stone from its place resulted in the room's sudden temperature increase, and lava had begun spouting from the place the rock had been.

"Raven! We need to get out of here, quick!" Piplup shouted.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because, I think that this isn't a mountain… I think we're in a volcano, and I think that moving that stone is gonna make it erupt!"

"What makes you say that?"

Almost as if on cue, the ground began shaking, although only for a quick moment. Meanwhile, looking around proved that lava was beginning to spout from cracks in the walls.

"Okay… Let's get out of here!'

The group quickly began running back to where they'd come from, avoiding places where rocks were beginning to fall from the ceiling. Lava was now rising out of the ground, and the group hurried around the pools forming.

They soon made it out of the cave, where Buck was waiting for them. All the Galactic grunts, as well as Mars and Jupiter, had disappeared. The sky had gotten dark… No, ash from the volcano was what was causing the dark sky.

"Come on, hop onto Claydol!" he shouted. He was holding onto the top of Claydol's head, and the large Pokémon was floating.

Raven nodded and she and her Pokémon all jumped onto Claydol. Luckily, they weren't heavy enough for Claydol, who levitated off and away from the mountain…


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Author's Notes: More trouble! With a capital T! So it's Trouble! :D

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

"What. Did. You. Do!" Jun screamed, stomping his foot on the ground with every word.

"_I _didn't do anything," Raven responded. "It was Team Galactic. I just happened to be there."

"Why didn't you try to stop them then?"

"I tried, but I couldn't."

"Gah! You're useless!"

"Shut it. I didn't see you there battling a ton of Team Galactic grunts. And by the time I found Charon, he'd already moved the stone."

"Then why didn't you put the stone back?"

"It was too hot."

While Jun and Raven kept arguing, others were trying to figure out what to do.

"Should we go back and try to replace the stone?"

"It's too dangerous there now!"

Yet again, Palmer appeared out of nowhere with a microphone in hand, taking control of the situation by shouting…

"No one needs to worry. The great Palmer will take care of everything!"

"YEAH!"

Jun cut off his argument with Raven to shout, "Yeah! That's my daddy… I mean, dad! That's my dad!"

"Well, if he'll take care of it, then I guess I can just relax now, right?" Raven asked. "Oh, wait, I can't, 'cause there's a freakin' volcano erupting! How the heck am I gonna sleep tonight?"

As Raven continued babbling to no one in particular, she felt the presence of someone standing behind her and quickly spun around.

To see a purple haired man in a white tuxedo.

"…Ah, that's right! You're Butler!"

"That's right!" he said proudly. "And I have a request for you and your friends."

"…A request?"

"That's right!" Butler said. Meanwhile, Raven's friends had overheard this and all gathered around to listen to him.

"I had recently been traveling at Mt. Coronet, you see? However, when I came here to do a show, I realized I had forgotten something very important back at the mountain. So, I was wondering, could you all go get it for me?"

"Oh, sure. Uh, what is it?"

"You'll know it once you see it. Which reminds me, I'll leave you with two of my Pokémon. They'll help you out with finding it, okay? So, you can leave your Pokémon here to rest. I'm sure they had a hard time at Stark Mountain, right?"

"Okay! Okay, let's go, right now! Come on, come on, come on!"

Raven was starting to sound a lot like Jun as she rushed off to their hotel to leave behind her Pokémon. Everyone else followed her reluctantly.

* * *

Mt. Coronet was a long mountain range that separated Sinnoh in half. It also connected to many towns and routes, but our group entered the mountain range through the entrance that connected it to Celestic Town. And, by recommendation of Dawn, Lucas, Angie, and Jun, they all dressed in warmer clothes.

Butler had lent them a Mightyena and a Kirlia, and had offered to fly them to the location with his Salamence.

But anyways. The group progressed through the dark cave with Mightyena and Kirlia leading the way.

"It's totally wrong for it to be so cold here. It's summer! It shouldn't be cold here!"

"Yeah, yeah! It's totally wrong! Someone needs to beat the weather into shape!"

"Yeah!"

We all probably know who the two people having that conversation are. So we won't mention them.

"So, Dawn. What's the story of Mt. Coronet?"

"Um… Let's see… Supposedly, Mt. Coronet is where the entire Sinnoh region began at. Um… the creator of everything created two beings, and because of those beings, time and space came to be. Then it made three other beings, and they were what created knowledge, emotions, and will. And then, it went to sleep, supposedly, at the very top of Mt. Coronet."

"Ehhh, that's so cool!" Pearl exclaimed. "Hm… I wonder how the other legendary Pokémon fit into it…"

"I'll bet Silver has a theory on it," Lyra said happily.

"I-I do not! Don't lie!"

"Oh, you're so tsundere!"

"I am not!"

Raven suddenly spun around with an excited look on her face. "Oh, you're tsundere? That's just like my Piplup!"

"Don't compare me to a Piplup! And I'm not tsundere!"

"Right now, he's all tsun-tsun, but later he'll be all dere-dere."

"Okay, I don't know what any of you are talking about," Dawn said, looking at the group having the conversation about Silver's tsundere-ness. Clearly, only Raven, Gold, Lyra, and Silver seemed to know what they were talking about.

"Oh, sorry. Tsundere refers to someone who acts mean and cold to someone in public, but once they're alone with that person, they're all lovey-dovey on them. Well, that's basically what it means," Gold said. "And that's just how Silver is!~"

"I said I'm not!" Silver snapped.

"Which reminds me, Raven, your Piplup's a tsundere?"

"Oh, yeah, he totally is! He always acts so proud and high and mighty, but he's really just looking for some love.~"

"Okay, this conversation is too weird for me," Pearl said and shook her head, looking back at Dawn. "Anyways, what were we talking about?"

"I think we were talking about legends and stuff."

"Oh, yeah. So, anyways, perhaps at some point, Kyogre and Groudon were born, and they made the land and sea, right? And then… Um, let's see, how to the other Pokémon fit in…"

"Deoxys came to Earth to look for the tsundere Silver!"

"I swear, the next time you call me that, I'm gonna…"

"You're gonna do what? You can't do anything!"

"Leave me alone!"

Well, it pretty much went on and on like that. Soon enough, Mightyena began barking to get their attention and ran out into a snow covered clearing.

The group followed after it, stopping once they reached the clearing. Snow was falling and apparently, judging by the fact that there were no footprints in the snow, no one, human or Pokémon, had been there in a while.

"This is the peak of Mt. Coronet!" Dawn said, sounding a bit like a tour guide. "This is where Cyrus tried to summon Dialga and Palkia to recreate the world. Of course, another Pokémon, Giratina, ended up coming after he summoned them and stopped him… It's a long story, though."

"Hah, looks like you guys aren't the only ones who've faced life-endangering situations, huh?" Pearl asked and laughed. "Anyways, what are we here for?"

Mightyena made a motion towards a rock, which Pearl hurried over to. "What, this thing?"

Mightyena stepped back as Pearl touched the rock. All of a sudden, it exploded and, once the smoke disappeared, there was a little machine with a note stuck on it.

"It says… Got ya!… Huh?"

Pearl looked back at the others, showing them the note. "What's this supposed to mean?"

Suddenly, several other small explosions occurred on several others rocks there, revealing the same tiny machines and more notes with the words "Got ya!" on it. The machines suddenly began moving and, much to their surprise, shot out several lasers to connect to one another. After the lasers connected, they created a small, light red wall.

They were trapped.

"What the heck is this?"

Kirlia and Mightyena were outside of the field they were trapped in, the two Pokémon looked proud of themselves.

"You two! What is this?"

Kirlia started laughing. "It looks like you guys won't be getting out any time soon! Hahah!"

"Come on! Answer our question!"

"Fine. To put it simply… Our master, Butler, set a trap, and you guys fell for it."

* * *

Silver's so tsundere. :D By the way, if that definition wasn't good enough for you, just look it up on Wikipedia or something. :|


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Author's Notes: -sniff- Pokemon Diamond and Pearl's final episode aired this week. I got all teary eyed and stuff. Damn Piplup...

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

"I should've known something was up…" Raven grumbled, sitting down on the ground. "But why would Butler want to trap us?"

"I had a feeling something was up when he told us that we should leave our Pokémon behind," Pearl said. "He didn't want us to have them because we'd be able to fight with them. Of course, that's why I brought mine along."

"Oh, you did?"

"Good job, Pearl!"

Pearl sighed. "Rather, the fact that you guys actually listened to him and left them behind just shows how gullible you are… But anyways, even with my Pokémon, I think we'll have a hard time breaking out of this area. Those machines are on the outside of the sealed area, so we can't directly destroy them."

"So? How do we escape?"

Pearl sat down on the ground, scratching her head. "…I don't know. Let me think…"

While Pearl began thinking of ways to escape, everyone else simply continued talking.

"What would Butler want us trapped for?"

"Beats me."

"Which reminds me, we left that Wally kid behind, as well that Nami kid."

"I left them behind because I knew something bad was going to happen," Pearl added and continued back to her thinking. "Let's see… Could we? No, that wouldn't work… Aha! I got it!"

She jumped up and pointed at Yellow and Raven. "You two! Use your esper powers!"

"Ah… I can only read Pokémon's minds and heal them…" Yellow mumbled.

"Who said I was an esper?" Raven asked.

Pearl sat back down to begin thinking yet again.

"Well… You know…" Lucas began and frowned. "Our best bet would be to have the Pokémon all attack the same spot as hard as they could, right?"

Pearl jumped towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking at him happily. "That's it!"

Pearl quickly took out her Poké Balls and sent out six Pokémon; Minun, a small green Pokémon with red flowers and a petal skirt, a tall brown Pokémon with giant leafs on its back and a long neck, a Pokémon that looked like Minun but with red ears and plus signs on its cheeks, and a silver and black Pokémon with metal plates on its body.

"Alright guys!" Pearl shouted and pointed at one spot near one of the machines emitting the laser. "All of you, attack that point!"

"Right!" they all answered and all launched their own attacks at the point. Meanwhile, Kirlia and Mightyena seemed surprised that they had Pokémon with them and were getting in position to fight in case the seal broke.

Unfortunately, it didn't break, at least, not immediately. Much like Lucas had said, with their attacks all striking the same point for a long period of time, it broke through, smashing the machine there. All the other lasers broke off and the cage was broken.

Mightyena charged at them, baring its fangs and preparing to bite whoever was closest to it. However, Pearl quickly ordered an attack from one of her Pokémon.

"Bellossom, use Sleep Powder!"

Bellossom, the Pokémon with the flowers, quickly twirled in a circle, sending out a silvery powder to the dog-like Pokémon. Within a matter of seconds, Mightyena toppled over, falling asleep right there on the ground.

Kirlia had summoned several leaves and spun around to send them flying at the group. However, one of Pearl's Pokémon destroyed the attack with a gust of wind before it reached them.

"Bellossom, use Sleep Powder again!"

Bellossom once again sent out a silvery powder at Kirlia, and it also fell asleep.

"Good job, Pearl!" everyone said in unison and gave her the thumbs-up sign.

"Oh, stop that. We need to get back to the Battle Zone, and fast."

"Can't we just fly on Tropius?"

"I wish we could, but she can't fly in cold weather like this. So we have to hurry out of here, fast!"

Everyone nodded and, leaving Butler's sleeping Pokémon, ran back through Mt. Coronet as fast as they could.

…Which wasn't very fast.

* * *

They soon made it to Celestic Town, exhausted from running all the through it. So a majority of them collapsed in front of a Pokémon Center.

However, Pearl noticed that a lot of people were standing outside, despite the fact that it was nighttime. When she saw that they were all looking up at the sky, she ran up to one of them and asked, "What's going on?"

"Just now, something shot up into the sky. And they're already talking about it on T.V., but no one knows what it is…"

Pearl also looked up at the sky, looking for whatever they were talking about. She could see the smoke in the sky from the volcano, but…

A part in the sky lit up for a moment and a white beam of light shot back down towards the Battle Zone.

"…What the heck is that?"

Pearl hurried back to the Pokémon Center, stepping on the ones laying in front of it. She then hurried to a PC in the center, starting it up and hurriedly using it…

"What's going on? What the heck is that? Why are people standing outside? What time is it? I didn't eat dinner!"

That was Jun, asking a million questions.

But anyways. Pearl rushed back outside and let out a Pokémon she'd gotten from the PC. It was small and yellow and currently sitting on the ground with its legs crossed.

"Okay! Everyone, put your hands on Abra!"

Everyone did as told, touching Abra anywhere on its body.

"Abra, teleport us to the Fight Area Pokémon Center!"

If Abra was showing any signs of being alive, no one else saw it. However, the area around them suddenly changed faster than they could blink, and they were in front of the Fight Area's Pokémon Center.

"…I totally need to get myself a teleporting Pokémon," Jun said, looking around in surprise.

Everyone here was running around like headless chickens, shouting unintelligible nonsense.

"Hey! What's going on?" Pearl asked, trying to talk to one person, who simply ran past her screaming. "Yeah, thanks a lot!"

She hurried of to the Battle Frontier's entrance, motioning for the others to follow. "Come on! Hurry up!"

"Right!" they all answered and ran after her quickly, avoiding the crazy… I mean, clearly scared people.

The inside of the Battle Frontier was even crazier. It was almost like when the Battle Factory Pokémon escaped, except there were no Pokémon running around. The group ran towards their hotel, where they spotted Wally and Nami standing out front of.

"What's going on?" Pearl asked.

"Um… well… Some weird guys started doing something north of here and, um…" Wally began and shrugged. "I don't know. A light shot up in the sky and the ground started shaking and… And…"

All of their Pokémon were sitting in the hotel lobby, staring at them with a blank look.

"Sorry, guys! We shouldn't of left you behind, 'cause we totally fell for a trap!" Jun laughed, running up to the group.

All of the Pokémon simply looked away from Jun and began staring at Raven with a blank look.

"…What?"

Suddenly, the Pokémon all grabbed Raven and ran upstairs, leaving everyone else behind, and confused.

After they dragged her up to where their room was, they let her go. Raven turned to look at their room and…

Found it in ruins.

"What happened here?" Raven simply asked.

"…You…"

Raven looked back at the Pokémon, who all seemed annoyed now. Piplup was at the head of the group, his arms across his chest.

"…Like, when were you gonna tell us about Jirachi, huh?"

"Oh, you found out?"

"Uh, yeah! He freaking _sneezed_! We thought he was a backpack!"

"Oh, is that so?"

"And, haven't you noticed anything?"

"That you guys had a party in here?"

"NO!"

"Sorry, what happened?"

Piplup sighed. "Not too long after we found out that your backpack was a Pokémon, some freaks broke into the room! We tried to fight them off, but they kidnapped Jirachi and ran off! And… Oops."

Piplup stopped and pointed towards the doorway. Raven looked over her shoulder to see Gold and Silver both standing there with shocked looks on their faces. Well, Silver was the only one shocked. Gold looked excited.

"…That backpack was actually a Pokémon?" Silver smacked his face. "I should've known! It looked too real to be a backpack!"

"N-no…"

"Jirachi, huh?" Gold asked and seemed to think. "When'd you get that Pokémon?… Whoa!"

Raven was, for the millionth time that day, on the verge of tears. "First Diane, and now you guys? This is terrible!"

"Uh, hey!" Piplup snapped and began pecking Raven's head. "If you think that's bad, how about the fact that Jirachi got kidnapped? Huh!"

"Stop hitting me, you're so mean, who's ever heard of a tsundere penguin?"

"I'm not tsundere! What's that even mean?"

"Oh, you're the tsundere Piplup!" Gold exclaimed and seemed to get even more excited. "It's nice to meet you! Here's the tsundere Silver!"

"I'm not tsundere!" they both shouted.

"Wait a second…" Silver began and started shaking his head. "Jirachi's been kidnapped, right? That's terrible! Jirachi can grant wishes, you know that?"

"So?"

"It doesn't voluntarily grant them!"

"What's that mean?"

"It means that if anyone asks Jirachi to grant a wish, it automatically has to grant it, regardless of what the wish is!"

Raven and Gold both gasped, their minds beginning to fill with the wishes they could ask for and have granted, no matter what it was.

And the two simply stood there with their mouths hanging open.

Meanwhile, Silver was beginning to talk aloud to himself. "Wait a second… Jirachi disappearing, that Butler guy trying to keep us captured… Not to mention, those Team Galactic people… It all fits together now…"

"Huh? What are you what?" Gold asked, snapping out of his daze of things he could wish for. "What the what?"

"I might be wrong but… I think this Butler guy is working together with Team Galactic! Although I'm not sure how they found out about Jirachi, or how they just happened to pick us to go get trapped but…"

"Actually, about that Jirachi thing…" Raven said slowly. "Yeah. There's this lady who works with him, and earlier today she found out that I had Jirachi. But I told her not to tell anyone! But…"

Silver smacked himself on the forehead. "Oh. Ohhhh. Now I see… Wait a sec, we shouldn't be here talking! We need to hurry and do something about this, quick!"


	21. Chapter Twenty

Author's Notes: Ohoho, there's trouble in this chapter... :|

* * *

Chapter Twenty

"Alright everyone! There's trouble! At Stark Mountain! And we're all gonna go stop it!"

"Yeah!"

Palmer was, yet again, announcing to everyone what they were going to do. Everyone at the Battle Frontier was going to fight off whoever was causing the trouble.

"Everyone! Let's go!" Palmer shouted, getting everyone's cheerful shouts. He hopped onto the back of his Dragonite, who took flight into the air. Trainers who had flying Pokémon also joined him in the sky, and those who didn't ran after them on the ground.

Raven, Silver, and Gold were all unsure of how exactly they'd bring it up to the others about Jirachi and the whole mess, so they just decided to temporarily forget about it as they joined the groups of people charging off. Since Silver and Gold both had flying Pokémon, Silver offered for Raven to fly with him, the offer which she happily accepted.

"…This totally sucks," she said, holding onto Silver tightly as they flew in the air.

"Yeah, I know. I feel like I'm about to fall asleep."

"Ah, don't do that. You might fall off."

"…"

It wasn't too far from the Battle Frontier that everyone spotted sight of an army of blue haired people, all lined up in a way so that they wouldn't be able to get to Stark Mountain. Apparently, they hadn't been anticipating an airborne attack, so those who were flying simply sailed over them. Those of the ground immediately took out their own Pokémon and began fighting.

"Alright! Up ahead!" Palmer shouted, pointing at where Stark Mountain was still spewing lava and smoke. "The final boss! Get your potions ready, boys! And, uh, girls!"

Everyone braced themselves as their Pokémon began landing around the peak of the mountain. Of course, there were Team Galactic grunts everywhere, not just at the bottom of the mountain, and they immediately attacked the group.

"I'll get closer to them, 'kay?" Silver asked, looking back at Raven, who nodded back at him. He tried to direct his Pokémon above to where there was, indeed, Butler, as well as Charon. Raven wasn't even surprised when she saw that Jirachi was also held captive by them, wrapped up in something.

However, there was another Pokémon standing with them. It stood on all fours, and looked to be dark red and light gray.

"Okay, can you jump?"

"Yep!" Raven answered. She quickly hopped off Silver's Pokémon's back and, despite the height of her fall, managed to land on her feet and right in front of Charon and Butler.

"Oh? It appears you escaped my trap!" Butler said. "Well, that's no good, is it? Charon, can I leave you to dispose of these people?"

"Of course," Charon laughed and motioned towards the other Pokémon with them. "Heatran! Get rid of this brat!"

The Pokémon opened its mouth and, although it began to glow bright red in color, nothing happened. However, much to Raven's surprise, the ground around her began breaking and lava started pouring out, getting dangerously close to her, as well as surrounding her.

"C-crap!"

"Raven!"

She looked up to see Silver flying towards her, holding out his hand. She grabbed it and they flew back up in the air, and just in time too; the lava completely submerged the area Raven was standing in.

"Well, well, well! I'm glad you'll be here to witness a truly great performance!" Butler shouted. He held a magician's wand in one hand, and on the tip of the wand was Jirachi, captured with a sphere of some sort.

"Behold! The undefeatable power of the wish Pokémon, Jirachi!"

"I won't let you!"

All of a sudden, Palmer dashed towards him at an incredible speed, swinging his leg and kicking Butler in the side. The young man was apparently not anticipating this attack, slamming down on the ground with a look of shock on his face.

"Harm me all you want, but it's no good!" Butler grunted, standing back up. He held his wand up in the air, pointing it straight at the sky. "Jirachi, hear my wish!"

Raven and Silver could only watch helplessly from a distance as Butler shouted out his wish.

"Take this world and all of us… To that world only rumored about… The Distortion World!"

Jirachi, who'd been previously unconscious, suddenly opened its eyes. Something on its stomach, which Raven had previously thought was just a line, opened up slowly, revealing another eye. The pupil of the third eye began glowing and shot a ray of light into the sky, passing through the smoke that had been surrounding the area.

After a short moment, the light returned back to the Pokémon, slamming back into the third eye.

"Granted."

All sound seemed to disappear as something black began emitting from Jirachi. It surrounded Butler and Charon, as well as Heatran, and covered up the land as well.

"W-what is that?"

"Everyone, run!" Palmer shouted. He jumped back on Dragonite, flying back into the sky.

Some other trainers weren't as lucky; despite flying back into the sky, the black thing followed after them, and at a frightening speed too, grabbing them and causing them to disappear. The black thing continued moving, sucking up anything and everything it touched. Wild Pokémon ran away from it, but the slower ones were caught and sucked up into it…

Everyone immediately began retreating away from the area as fast as they could. So long as they weren't in close range of the black thing when they ran, it wouldn't chase after them quickly. Despite that, it continued moving, although slowly, across the land…

"W-what the heck is that?" Raven screamed, yet again holding tightly onto Silver.

"I don't know, but I'm just guessing that we shouldn't touch it!"

They quickly landed back into the Battle Frontier, being surrounded by other people.

"What's happening?"

"I don't really know…"

Palmer had also just landed back in the Battle Frontier. However, he wore an expression of frustration on his face, apparently not ready to start announcing to everyone yet again.

"Palmer, what happened?" Thorton was there, and had hurried up to the older man.

"I… I don't know… They had a Pokémon… It was a Jirachi, and they made a wish, and…" He stopped and put a hand to his head. "It's granting the wish."

"Well? What was the wish?"

"They said something about taking this world and everyone in it to something called… The Distortion World? What's that?"

Thorton frowned, looking down at the ground for a moment before talking again.

"…This is bad. Very, very bad."

* * *

Everyone had gather in the lobby of the Battle Castle, since it was the farthest from the black thing. The Frontier Brains were apparently holding a meeting of sorts.

"All right, everyone, listen up!" Thorton announced and let out a sigh. "That black thing is sucking anything it touches and putting it in the Distortion World. So don't touch it, got it?"

Everyone in the crowd mumbled some things before someone shouted, "What's the Distortion World?"

"To sum it up simply; it's a place created to keep this world in balance."

No one seemed to understand what Thorton was talking about, so he sighed yet again and continued explaining.

"Think of it like this; to keep everything in our world in order, there is a parallel dimension just like it, and right next to it."

"?"

"You can't normally access it at all, unless something like this happens. What this means is, these people are trying to bring our world and the parallel dimension together as one. Of course, this comes with serious problems. Do you understand?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll try to sum it up… Don't touch it, or you'll be sent to that parallel dimension and stuck there, probably forever. Got it? The only way I can think of possibly returning things to normal would be to get back that Jirachi and make a wish to return things to normal."

Someone in the crowd raised their hand. "What's Jirachi?"

"It's a legendary Pokémon that grants wishes. Since it doesn't voluntarily grant wishes though, getting in the hands of the wrong people can prove to be disastrous, as it's becoming now. Of course, no one knows when or how these people got ahold of Jirachi, although I'm guessing it was probably yesterday, during the meteor shower."

Someone else - Raven - raised her hand. "Um, they didn't get Jirachi yesterday."

"They didn't?"

"No, I had it."

Everyone turned around to stare at her. "…What?"

"…I'd like to use one of my lifelines, please," she said, starting to feel uncomfortable from the decidedly angry glares of people.

"Wait, what do you mean you had it?"

"Well, I kinda found it when it crashed to Earth, and it used one of its seven mysterious skills to take the form of a backpack, but then someone found out about it today and told someone else about it and then they tricked me and my friends into going to Mt. Coronet and then they tried to trap us there so we couldn't return. Also, we left our Pokémon at the hotel and they broke in and stole Jirachi. The end."

"…"

If eyes could shoot flames, Raven would be dead.

"Then it's decided!" Palmer shouted out of the blue, breaking the extremely uncomfortable silence and jumping up from where he sat. "This is a big problem! And we're going to need powerful trainers to help us! For her punishment, she'll be forced to go and gather the gym leaders! From all the regions!"

"What the what?" Raven screamed.

"That's not a harsh enough punishment! Make her do it while wearing a French maid outfit!"

"Oh, good idea!"

"And cat ears!"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Raven screamed, shaking her heads. "Stop saying creepy things like that, I feel violated!"

"But anyways!" Palmer said and sat back down. "I'm serious! Actually, 'cause I'm a softie, I'll only have you go get the gym leaders from Kanto and Johto, 'kay?"

"What?"

"You heard me! Dooo ittt!"

"Neverrrr!"

"DO ITTTTT!"

"NEVERRRR!"

"Fine! Then wear a French maid uniform with cat ears and serve everyone tea and cake!"

"Oh, hell no!"

"So that means you'll go get the gym leaders then!"

"Wait, what?"

* * *

In the end, Lyra, Gold, and Silver offered to accompany Raven as she was forced to get the gym leaders from Kanto and Johto. Palmer said he'd get Sinnoh's leaders and then probably Hoenn's leaders as well.

And the only reason for this, according to Palmer, was because they needed strong trainers. But there was already strong trainers in Sinnoh, but Palmer demanded that they needed gym leaders. For no apparent reason.

And so, the four of them left by riding on the back of Silver's Feraligatr, who swam across the water at an amazing speed…


	22. Chapter Twenty One

Author's Notes: Johtoooooo. Kantooooo. Hear me roarrrr!... I'm kinda hyper right now.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

The four of them had apparently fallen asleep while on Feraligatr, and they didn't wake up until Feraligatr began making noise to get attention.

Silver was the first one to wake up, nearly falling off of Feraligatr. He looked around to see that they were still in the ocean, but at a shipping port. A city lay before them, building lights still on despite the fact that the sun was just now beginning to rise.

Silver yawned and looked behind himself to start shaking the other three awake. "Come on, guys, wake up. We're here."

"Wha-?" Raven snored but remained asleep.

"I said, wake up. We're here."

The three of them remained asleep and Silver sighed, getting off his Pokémon's back and walking through the water. Since they were close to land, the water wasn't very deep, so Silver easily walked up the nearby beach.

"Okay, Feraligatr. Dunk them."

Feraligatr nodded happily before submerging itself into the water. That managed to wake the other three up, and they all jumped up in surprise, screaming like they were getting killed.

"Relax, will you? We're here."

The three of them calmed down long enough to look around at where they were. Of course, Raven didn't have a clue where they were, so she asked, "Where's here?"

"This is Olivine City," Silver simply said.

"Ohhhh. Okay."

Silver rolled his eyes and began walking away towards a Pokémon Center. The other three, and Feraligatr, scrambled after him as fast as they could…

* * *

It was now 8 AM, and the sun was already high in the sky as the four all left the Pokémon Center. They'd checked into a room and slept for a couple of hours before deciding to start their search.

"Olivine City is home to the gym leader Jasmine," Silver said as they walked along the streets of the city. Despite the time, people were already wide awake and walking around.

They came to a stop in front of the gym, which was at the very north of the city. However, much to their surprise, there was a sign stuck on the door.

"The gym leader is currently away in the Sinnoh region. We do not know when she'll be back. Until then, please visit the Olivine Lighthouse to receive a gym badge."

"Wait a second!" Raven snapped and started stomping around on the ground. "If she's already in Sinnoh, then couldn't we have just met her and ask her to contact the other gym leaders?"

"…Damn it…" Silver muttered and shook his head. "In that case, let's go to Ecruteak City. Come on, now, stop being such a baby."

Against Raven's will, they began walking north-east of Olivine City. Unlike the routes in Hoenn and Sinnoh, Raven found that these ones were shorter and didn't require too much walking. Once she realized that, she stopped whining and walked in silence.

"…I just thought of something!" Gold said as they passed through a guard house leading into Ecruteak City. "We should go participate in a Pokéathlon!"

"No way!" Silver snapped. "We're supposed to be doing our job, not playing around!"

"Aw, come on! Don't be so-"

Silver glared at him. "No."

The other three all let out a sigh as Silver looked back at Ecruteak City. Compared to all the other cities Raven had ever seen, Ecruteak City was much more… traditional looking. Aside from the way the buildings looked, there was a tall tower in the northeast area of the city. Trees surrounded the entire city and, as Raven noted, there was the remains of a burnt down building in the northwestern corner.

"Okay, so let's go to the gym and find Morty, got it?" Silver asked. The other three nodded silently as they began following the red haired boy to the gym, which was in the southwestern area of the city.

However, before they reached it, they spotted a blonde haired young man walking in the same direction as them. Silver let out a sigh and raised his hand in the air.

"Hey, Morty!"

The man turned around to look at them and, after recognizing who they were, began walking over to them.

"Hello. What's up?"

"Okay, this is gonna sound crazy but…" Silver began and took in a deep breath. "Okay, we were in Sinnoh where a crazy person made a wish using the Pokémon Jirachi to bring the Distortion World into the real world and we've been told to go and gather the gym leaders and get them to help!"

Morty stood there and gave him a blank look. It was almost like he was dead. He didn't even blink. Not once.

"…That's a problem."

"I know that!"

Morty sighed. "Well, it would be useless if I said I wasn't going to help after you came all this way, huh? Don't worry, I'll go to help. In fact, would it help if I called the other gym leaders and let them know?"

"Ah, yeah, that'd be a great help!"

"Unfortunately, I only have the numbers of the Johto gym leaders… So you'll have to get the Kanto leaders by yourself, alright? Or rather, I'll just ask any of the others if they have their numbers. Or-"

Silver quickly shook his head. "Nope, that's fine! We'll go get the Kanto leaders! Thanks!"

Before Morty could say anything back, Silver began hurrying off towards the south exit of Ecruteak City, dragging Lyra, Gold, and Raven along with him.

* * *

"Come on, Silv! It sucks that we can't even take our time with traveling! Raven's never been here before… We should, like, be her tour guides!"

The group had reached yet another city, this one by the name of Goldenrod. They were also now sitting in a train station, waiting for the next train to arrive and bring them to the Kanto region.

"Oh, sorry, maybe you forgot about the part where the world's getting sucked into another one?" Silver snapped.

Meanwhile, Raven was apparently having a staring contest with Gold's Aipom. Neither of them had blinked for who knows how long.

Gold began pouting and making faces at Silver. Lyra was standing next to them, staring off into space.

"Now!" Raven shouted and jumped up. "Aipom! Use Double Hit- on me!"

Aipom quickly lashed out at Raven, striking her with its tail twice.

"…What're you doing?" Silver asked, looking at the two of them in annoyance.

"Oh, nothing, I was just teaching Aipom a new move!" Raven laughed.

"…It looked like you were having a staring contest with it."

"Oh, did it? Well, it wasn't just that! I was trying to get it to use Double Hit!"

"Why?"

"Because now it can evolve!" Raven said happily and pointed at Aipom.

…And nothing was happening to it.

"Attentions, passengers! The train is about to leave for Saffron City. We request that you make sure you refrain from keeping large Pokémon out at the station as well as make sure that your Pokémon are well behaved or put away in their Poké Balls so they won't lick other passengers' faces. Thank you."

"That's us!" Silver said and began walking off. The others all scrambled after him to where they passed through an automatic ticket checking machine before hurrying down a flight of stairs. Meanwhile, a train was pulling into the station, and once it came to a stop, its doors automatically opened. Some people got off while others got on…

Raven stared excitedly out the window as the train began moving. In a matter of seconds, it was traveling so fast that everything else was just blurs and spots of color. Lyra shared her excitement, sitting next to her with her face pressed against the window.

Within a half-hour, the train finally slowed down to a stop and a voice came out over the intercom: "We have arrived in Saffron City! Saffron! Accent on the a!"

As the doors opened up automatically yet again, the group hurried off the train and headed out of the station.

Saffron City was the biggest city Raven had ever seen. There were more tall buildings than she could count, and lots of people.

"W-wow! This is so cool!"

"You think so?" Lyra asked. For some reason, she was holding onto Raven's arm as if Raven might start running off somewhere at any moment.

"Okay… So, let's go find Saffron's gym leader, okay?" Silver asked and began walking off.

"Who's that?"

"Her name's Sabrina," Silver explained. "She trains psychic type Pokémon… Don't you dare suddenly decide you want to battle her or something. We have a job to do."

"What? I would _never _do such a thing."

Silver rolled his eyes as they continued walking. Within a couple of minutes, they spotted the Pokémon gym and walked through its doors.

"'Scuse me!" Gold said loudly and ran up to some guy standing at the doorway. "We need to speak with the gym leader! It's an emergency!"

"What? I don't think I can do that…"

"No, but it's a super big emergency!" Gold repeated.

"No, I mean that I can't do that…"

"It's an emergency! What can't you do?"

"I mean that I'm someone challenging the gym and I don't work here!"

"…Oh," Gold said and spun around to face the other three. "Oops!"

"You're an idiot," said Silver and shook his head. All of a sudden, he felt like someone was standing behind him and spun around to see a girl with black hair behind him. She wore a pink tank top and white pants…

"What do you need?" she asked.

"Who're you?" Raven asked back.

"My name's Sabrina. I heard you guys mention you needed the gym leader, so here I am."

"Ohhh!" Gold shouted and gave her the thumbs-up. "That's our psychic Sabrina!"

Sabrina looked away. "W-whatever. What is it that you need?"

"Okay, long story short, we need your help for an emergency in the Sinnoh region!"

"…An emergency?"

"Yeah! Someone made a wish on that wish Pokémon Jirachi, you know? And, like, the wish was for this entire world to get sucked into the Distortion World, you know? So, like, we were told to gather all the gym leaders and get them to help because these guys have lots of legendary Pokémon and we are apparently incapable of dealing with it by ourselves. You know?"

"Wait… what?"

"Let me explain…" Raven said and stepped forward. "Sabrina, if you don't help us, everyone in this world's totally gonna be stuck in the Distortion World, where things are… distorted."

Sabrina seemed to think for a moment before she finally answered, "Well, it's not like I can say no. You came all the way here to ask me that."

"So you'll come? Thanks!"

"Sure, but where am I supposed to go?"

Raven looked at Silver. "Where does she go?"

Silver sighed, answering, "North of Kanto is Sinnoh. Ah, you'll be able to spot the area where its happening pretty easily… It's a giant black thing swallowing up everything it touches."

"I see," said Sabrina and nodded. "If you'd like, I'll pass your message on to the other leaders."

"You know, everything you've said so far is practically the same thing that Morty guy told us," Raven said and Silver quickly covered her mouth.

"Thank you very much, Sabrina."

"It's not a problem. Oh, except… I don't have Viridian City's leader's number. In fact, I can't even seem to remember who it is. So you don't mind going to find that leader, do you?"

"Nope, we don't mind. Now, come on, let's go!" Silver said and dragged the other three out of the gym before they could say anything else.

"But I wanna talk with Sabrinaaaaa!"

"No! We. Have. A. Job. To. Do."

While Raven cried out random noises and tried to run back to Sabrina, Silver simply sent out one of his Pokémon; a giant black bird.

"Honchkrow, we need to fly to Viridian City, okay?"

Honchkrow nodded as Silver picked up Raven and tossed her on its back. Gold hopped up behind her, followed by Lyra, and Silver took the spot at the front. They were lucky that the bird was big enough to hold all four of them…

* * *

Did you know? In HGSS, at Saffron City's Magnet Traine station, there's a sign that says, "Please make sure that your Pokémon are well behaved or put away in their Poké Balls so they won't lick other passengers' faces. Thank you."

:|


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

Author's Notes: Believe it or not, I actually had a lot of this chapter written out on paper last year. In fact, I hadn't even written any of this story at all, and I wrote it in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep.

...Does that mean I'm, like, impatient or something?

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two

Viridian City's gym was closed, much like Olivine City's had been. It, too, had a sign on the front of it, with the message: "Our gym leader is currently out right now. He will be back shortly… Probably."

And with that not-very-encouraging message, the group decided to head south of Viridian City to Pallet Town.

"I'm hungry…" Raven whined as they walked along the grassy path. "We didn't even get to eat breakfast, and it's already time for lunch. I could totally eat Gold if he was deep-fried."

"…I wonder what I would taste like deep-fried," Gold mumbled and licked his arm. "…Ugh. Definitely have to be deep-fried first. I'm disgusting raw."

"Really? Let me try…"

"Oh, will you two quit it?" Silver snapped as Raven was preparing to take a bite out of Gold's arm. Gold took his arm back and rolled down the sleeve.

"Sorry, Commander SILVER."

"Why'd you capitalize his name like that?"

"No particular reason."

"Oh. Then we should capitalize Pokémon names too, right? Like… Oh, look, there's a wild PIDGEY!"

"Commander SILVER, should we battle it?"

Silver spun around to face them. "I swear, if you don't quit your talking, I'll…"

"What will Commander SILVER do? FIGHT, BAG, POKéMON, or RUN?"

Silver punched Gold in the face before turning around and hurrying away.

"Commander SILVER attacked with METAL CLAW! It's not very effective…"

* * *

"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of beer on the wall!"

"No, wait, if you just passed one around, the end of it would be 98 bottles of beer on the wall, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, yeah. 98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer…"

Silver was, quite literally, _this_ close to killing Gold and Raven. Lyra was, surprisingly, not getting on his nerves as bad as those two were, but she continued to encourage their antics by laughing at everything they said.

After the group had reached Pallet Town, they were told that Viridian City's gym leader wasn't there, and neither was Kanto's professor. However, the gym leader's sister was there, and told them that her brother would probably be somewhere around Cinnabar Island.

And so they once again hopped on the back of Silver's Feraligatr and were now heading to the island.

"95 bottles of beer on the wall, 95 bottles of beer…"

Silver sighed and announced, "There's the island. So shut up already!"

They all quieted down as they approached the island. Well, if you could call it an island. It looked like hell had passed through there, then came back a second time just for fun.

"…Are you sure we're here?" Raven asked.

"No, I just wanted to say that for fun," Silver said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "Yes, this is Cinnabar Island."

His Pokémon came to a stop at a flat area where they could walk at. Silver returned Feraligatr to its Poké Ball as they took a look at the destroyed island…

And spotted a boy probably a few years older than them standing nearby with his back to them.

"Hey, you!" Raven shouted loudly and Silver smacked the back of her head.

The boy turned around to look at them, but didn't say anything back to them.

"Are you Viridian City's gym leader?"

"…It looks like my sister told you I was here, huh?"

Raven's face lit up as she began jumping around. "Oh, yeah! Listen we need your help!"

"The answer is no."

Raven slowly stopped jumping. "…Huh?"

"I'm not helping you with anything at all. At least, not until you can prove to me that you're worthy enough."

"W-what? Why should I have to prove anything to you?"

"If you don't want to prove it, then you mustn't really need my help, huh?"

"Fine then! Let's battle!" Raven immediately took out a Poké Ball and tossed it. "Go, Piplup!"

As Piplup materialized next to her, the boy began laughing loudly.

"You're bringing out a Piplup? You don't realize who you're battling, do you?"

"Um… you're a gym leader, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but at one point, I was the Pokémon League champion! Although it was short-lived thanks to Red…" the boy said and sighed before looking around. "Anyways, take a good look around you."

Raven looked around at the destroyed island for a quick moment before looking back at him. "Yeah?"

"A volcano erupts, and just like that, a whole town disappears. We can go on winning and losing in Pokémon, but if nature so much as twitches, we can be overwhelmed in a second… That's the way it is… But, anyway, I'm still a Trainer. If I see a strong opponent, it makes me want to battle. If you want to battle me… for real, show me how many Kanto Badges you've got."

"…I don't have any."

Yet again, the boy started laughing loudly. "None? Wow, you must be, like, an idiot or something, right?"

"But I have badges from Hoenn!" Raven snapped. "In fact, I'm Hoenn's newest league champion!"

"Huh? You? Yeah, right! Hahah!"

"Ugh… You're so mean! Lyra, that guy's an evil demon!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know he is," Lyra agreed and stuck her tongue out at him. "He's just a big bully!"

The boy, whose name we still don't know, although I'm sure everyone's guessed it by now, frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine then! You guys have to come with me somewhere… Think of it as training! If you can survive it, then maybe I'll listen to what you need my help with."

"Ehhh, really? Thanks, mister!"

"Ah, my name's Green! Not mister!"

"Green, huh? Nice to meet you! My name's Raven!"

Meanwhile, Silver was apparently becoming confused. "Wait… no, we can't do training right now, it's an emer-"

"Let's go back to Pallet Town first, 'kay, kiddies?"

"YEAH!"

Silver sighed. He'd have to go along with it, or Green wouldn't help them… Damn stubborn people.

* * *

Green was a cold, heartless bastard.

Well, first off, he had brought them to Mt. Silver, which looked dangerous just by looking at it. In fact, looking at it made your eyes sting a bit. Maybe it was because it was cold near the mountain. Who knows.

As soon as he led them to the edge of the mountain, he took out his own Pokémon, took Gold and Silver's flying Pokémon, and flew up to one of the mountain's higher points. Up there, he simply laughed and yelled at their crazed antics, the poor trainers trying to find out how they were supposed to get up there…

Within a hour, they reached the area where Green was, exhausted and, honestly, pretty pissed at him.

And then Green flew higher up the mountain, starting the cycle all over again. Green is a cold, heartless bastard.

This time, they managed to reach Green within half a hour. Perhaps they had more trouble at the beginning because there were crazy, angry Pokémon that kept attacking them. Or maybe it was because they were crying about how mean Green was. Maybe it was both.

"All right, so far, so good!" Green laughed as he watched the four of them sit on the ground, trying to catch their breaths. "…You wanna know what would be really funny?"

"What?"

"If I pushed you off the mountain and made you start all over?"

"No, no, please don't do that! Please!"

"I've suffered enough today! My legs hurt too much!"

"Push Silver off, I bet he'd like it!"

"Don't you dare!"

Green spun around and began walking off yet again. "Well, follow me now! I won't ditch you this time… Probably."

The four reluctantly followed after Green, all of them wondering if he would leave them at any time.

After nearly another hour of climbing up the mountain, which involved going inside of it, outside of it, up the walls and only getting lost twice, they finally came to a stop to take a rest.

Gold, Lyra, Silver, and Raven were now making bets to see which one of them would faint first from exhaustion. So far, the most likely candidate was Raven, who seriously looked like she was going to die at any moment.

Just then, they noticed someone standing nearby. It was a boy in red. They couldn't see his face, since he had his back to them, but there was also a Pikachu sitting on top of his head.

"Hey, Red!" Green shouted.

The boy looked up, albeit very slowly, and then blinked. One time. And said absolutely nothing.

Green let out a sigh and walked up to the boy, taking the red cap off of the boy's head and placed it over on the Pikachu's face.

…And leaned closer to the boy's face, kissing him.

"Whoa!" Silver shouted and stood there in shock with his face turning a million shades of red.

The other three weren't shocked like Silver and instead watched them with amused expressions.

Green pulled away from the boy. "Long time, no see, huh, Red?"

The boy, Red, looked at Green with what could only be called a blank look.

"…Red, you know, if you continue to say nothing and have a blank look, I'll never know what you mean."

Red's eyebrows moved down, but only a bit. "Green…" he mumbled and the cast a quick glance at the other four. "…?"

Green looked over to see that Silver was currently hiding behind Lyra, who was pushing away Gold, who was puckering his lips and saying Silver's name. At some point, Raven had taken out a camera from Arceus-knows-where and was taking pictures of Green and Red.

"They're some friends, that's all."

At some point, Red's Pikachu had fallen from his shoulder and now rolled around on the ground, struggling to get the cap off its face. Which wasn't really difficult at all, but Pikachu seemed to be having a hard time.

Green rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry guys, guess I should've warned you, huh? You guys don't mind, do you…?"

"Mind what?" Raven asked, pressing the camera shutter.

"Um… You know, me and Red…"

She shook her head. "Nope, not a problem. Besides, we have Gold and Silver."

Gold had made it past Lyra's shield and wrapped an arm around Silver's waist. "Got that right!"

"Asshole," Silver grunted and tried to push him away.

* * *

Red had a camp already set up. Well, if a small fire and a sleeping bag were what you call a camp, then a camp it was.

As Red and Green began talking with each other (which involved Green doing all the talking and Red simply nodding), the other four were given the nearly impossible task of getting a bucket of water.

Being the sly rats they were, they hid behind a rock and had Lyra's Marrill fill the bucket with its Water Gun.

Sure, it came from its mouth from who-knows-where in its body, but, as Gold said, "It's all the same going down."

"By the way…" Red began quietly as they came back and tried to boil the water. "What are your names?"

Green quickly answered the question for him. "Lyra, Raven, Gold, and Silver."

Red nodded slowly. "…Did you come here to train?"

"Well…" Lyra started and clapped her hands together. "I've always wanted to meet you, Mr. Red! You're really famous, you know? It's a real honor to meet you!"

Gold nodded. "Yeah, what Lyra said!"

"I came because I thought, 'Man, I have to meet an actual person with the name Red,'" Raven said.

Silver had begun shaking his head, covering his face with his hand.

"Silver?" Gold asked. "Silverrrrr?"

"Hey, Silver, what's wrong?" Lyra asked.

"Silver?"

"Silver?"

"Silver?"

Lyra and Gold continued saying Silver's name like they were broken records. Suddenly, Silver felt something close to his ear.

"Silver?" Lyra whispered.

Over on Silver's other side, Gold bit his other ear.

Silver screamed loudly, pushing away Lyra and punching Gold in the face. He then stood up angrily. "Do you guys seriously not remember why we came here?"

"Nope."

"We had a reason?"

"No, wait, we came up here 'cause Green told us too, didn't we?"

As Silver stated the reason they came to the Kanto region, Green let out a scream that could've caused an avalanche.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT?"

"'Cause you said you wouldn't listen to our favor unless we completed your training," Raven answered as he began shaking Gold, Lyra, and she by the necks of their shirts.

"ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING?" he continued and let go of them. "What're we waiting for? We have to hurry up and get there now!"

Red frowned. "…Tired."

Green spun around and glared at him.

"Never mind. I'm wide awake. Let's go?"

Green sent out a large bird Pokémon that he called Pidgeot while Red let out a larger, orange dragon-like Pokémon by the name of Charizard. As Red quickly hopped onto its back, he was followed onto it by Gold, Silver (against his will), and Lyra.

"…Um," Green began slowly. "Can Charizard really carry all of you?"

Red shrugged and Charizard shook its head quickly.

"I'm not getting off!" Lyra whined and grabbed Red's arm. "I wanna be with Red!"

Gold grabbed his other arm. "Me too!"

"Then I'll go," Silver sighed and started sliding off only to have his arm grabbed by Gold.

"You have to stay with me," Gold pouted.

"Oh, will you all just freaking hurry the hell up?" Green shouted. He then let out a sigh. "All right, where are we headed?"

"The Sinnoh region!" Raven answered eagerly. She was the only one who'd jumped on behind Green.

"I heard that part already," Green sighed and turned around to flick her forehead. "Which is where…? I've never been there."

"Um, north of the Kanto and Johto regions," Raven said, holding her forehead.

"All right!" Green shouted as Silver climbed on behind Raven. "Pidgeot, let's fly!"

Red tapped on Charizard's head. "You too."

Both Pokémon spread their wings wide and jumped, flapping their wings for a few moments before flying forwards. Meanwhile, Red's Pikachu sat in Red's lap, still struggling to get the cap off its face.

* * *

I support RedxGreen!1!one! And a tonnnnn of other pairings. Yarharhar. Ohoho.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Author's Notes: Yaddayaddayadda. Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother writing this story. Oh, wait, it keeps me busy so I won't drive other people nuts. Question answered.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Three

Hours passed as Charizard and Pidgeot soared in the sky. Lyra, Gold, and Silver had fallen asleep while the other three were awake.

"Hey," Raven began and tapped Green's shoulder.

"Hm?"

"How long have you been a Pokémon trainer?"

Green sighed at the rather boring (and painfully obvious) conversation starter. "Let's see… About 6 years, maybe?"

Pidgeot cawed and nodded slightly to agree with Green.

"Oh, I see…" Raven muttered.

Neither said anything for a moment.

"…Sorry."

Green looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"Sorry. I guess we should've mentioned the whole Sinnoh thing first when we met you," Raven said and sighed. "It's just that…"

"Hey!" Red shouted. "Green, you don't mind taking the lead, do you? I'm tired." To emphasize this, Red let out a yawn. "See?"

Green rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Thanks. Charizard, follow Pidgeot, okay?" Red said and Charizard nodded, slowing down to fly behind Pidgeot. Red laid down on its back, curling up into a ball since there wasn't much room. Meanwhile, Pikachu had fallen asleep with his cap on its face.

Wind and the flapping of wings was the only noise for a bit.

"Anyways, sounds like you have a bit of a story," Green said. "You mind telling me?"

Raven grinned and took in a deep breath. "Well, it all started when I got an invite to Sinnoh's Battle Frontier…"

* * *

The two of them managed not to fall asleep at all since Raven was telling Green everything that had happened. Before they even realized it, the sun was coming up, the clouds turning beautiful colors.

"Morning already, huh?" Green asked and sighed. "I hope we'll be able to get some sleep once we get there…"

"I hope so…" Raven grumbled and then started squinting.

She could the region ahead, the land spread out underneath them like a giant, over-sized map. However, in the upper-right hand of the area, it was simply black, like someone had spilled ink all over it.

"…What the heck is that?"

"That would be the… uh, the black thing," Raven simply said. "…And it got bigger from when I left."

Green sighed. "…What do we do?"

"…I don't know."

Green let out another sigh. "Then let's stop at the northernmost city… That one all the way up there, with the snow."

"Roger that, captain. Black Bird to Red Bird, we are heading to Snowpoint City. Red Bird, do you hear me? Red Bird?"

"Red Bird is listening, over."

Green looked over at Charizard to see that Red was awake and answering Raven back.

"When did… Never mind," Green sighed and shook his head.

Within the next hour, the group came to land at the Sinnoh region's northernmost city… Snowpoint City. Much like its name suggested, it was covered with snow, snow, and more snow. A Pokémon Gym sat in the center of the city, with a Pokémon Center in the south-east corner and a store and houses in the other corners. However, the city seemed devoid of life.

"…Is it always this empty here?" Green asked as he returned Pidgeot to its Poké Ball.

"…I don't know," Raven answered. She hurried to the Pokémon Center and walked inside, only to find that it was completely empty. "It's empty in the Pokémon Center too…"

Green continued looking around at the empty city. The other five followed around, looking at its emptiness.

"Alright, I'll check the gym for people! Red, Lyra, Gold, Silver, Raven, you check the other places, 'kay?" Green asked and hurried off to the Pokémon gym. The others all broke up to check different places of the city.

As Raven walked around, she suddenly spotted a girl sitting in the entrance of some stone ruins north of the Pokémon gym. She ran up to the girl and vaguely recognized her.

"…Ms. Candice?"

Raven began shaking her shoulder until she finally woke up, looking around in confusion. "Huh? What?"

"What're you doing sitting here?" asked Raven, frowning.

"…Huh? Oh!" she exclaimed and jumped up. "I've been waiting for you!"

"…Really?"

"Yeah!" she said and grabbed her hand. "Ah! You're so warm!~"

Sure enough, Candice was shivering. Well, she was sleeping outside…

"Why were you waiting for me?" Raven asked.

"Ah! I had to tell you something important…" Candice continued and then suddenly sneezed all over Raven. "Oh! Sorry…"

Raven wiped the snot off her face and sighed. "What is it?"

"The others… They wanted me to tell you… Go into the darkness!"

Raven gasped. "I can't!… Unless they have cookies!"

"Oh, I hope they do have cookies. I'm hungry."

"Me too…"

"Hey!" Silver snapped from farther away. He was trudging through the snow towards the two, Gold following him. "You were supposed to shout if you found someone!"

"Oh, yeah," Raven said and took in a deep breath. "I FOUND SOMEONE!"

Before she even noticed it, Silver had run up to her and smacked the back of her head. "You idiot!"

"Hey, hey, no need to hit…" she grumbled. "Anyways! Candy here said that we need to… go into the darkness."

Gold gasped. "Not the darkness! We can't go to the dark side! That would, like, make us evil!"

Silver smacked Gold's head too. "That's not what they mean!"

Green, Red, and Lyra were now hurrying over to the group, Red covered with tons of snow.

"Green! Green~!" Raven shouted and attempted to run through the snow over to him. However, due to the knee-high height of the snow, she wasn't able to do that too well.

"…Who's this?" Green asked and looked at Candice.

"I'm the gym leader here!" Candice said proudly and put her hands on her hips. "Right now, I'm going to go into the darkness with you guys!"

"Wait a second!" Green snapped. "Where is everyone?"

"We evacuated everyone to get them away from the darkness. Once you touch it, you disappear. If you're near it and you run away, it chases after you!" she explained. "We evacuated everyone to Jubilife City, since it's pretty far away from this area…"

"In that case… We go to the darkness now, right?" Lyra asked, getting excited.

Candice nodded quickly. "Yep! It's already swallowed up the entire Battle Zone island and now its crossing the ocean…"

Red raised his hand and quietly said, "…What if entering the darkness doesn't bring us to the Distortion World, but instead kills us?"

"Well then… oops!" Candice shrugged. "Game over! Zero lives left! Bad end!"

At that, Candice began hurrying off somewhere, and the other six all followed after her quickly. "Where're we going?"

"To get a boat!"

"Hahah, nice boat," Gold laughed and Raven started laughing with him. Seeing as how no one else got it, they stopped laughing.

Sure enough, there was a small boat in Snowpoint City's harbor. As Candice jumped on board, the others reluctantly followed her.

"…Candice, do you know how to drive a boat?" Raven asked as they walked into the cabin-area.

"Hm? No, but it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"…"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Candice continued and started up the boat. Everyone else sat down, praying that they wouldn't die today.

Surprisingly, Candice managed to drive the boat rather well, and as it sailed across the across, the black thing started to come into view. Candice slowed down the boat and turned around to look at the others.

"Okay, we're jumping in!"

"What?"

"Come on, let's go, let's go!" she exclaimed and skipped out of the room. "Let's jump in, let's jump in!"

They all walked out to stand at the front of the boat, where the black thing was getting closer to them.

"I'll go first, 'kay?" Candice offered and quickly flung herself over the edge, jumping down into the dark thing. However, where one would've expected to hear the sound of splashing water, there was nothing. It was like she hadn't jumped at all.

"…I'm scared…" Raven grumbled.

"Join the club!" Gold laughed and then looked down at the water. "…Ugh. I'm starting to feel sick…"

Red held out his hand to them, but when they simply just stared at it, he finally said something. "…Hold hands?"

"Fine!" Raven grumbled and grabbed Gold's hand, who held onto Red's hand. Lyra held Raven's other hand while Silver held Lyra's hand, and Green held Red's other hand.

Together, they all stood at the edge of the boat, took in a deep breath, and jumped off the side, going into the darkness…

* * *

NICE BOAT. HARHARHAR. Wait, does this mean Candice has a license to drive a boat? Wait, do you even need a license to drive a boat?


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

Author's Notes: Errr, Zero, Newton, and Infi are from the 11th Pokemon movie. I believe I've said it before, but I enjoy destroying those boundaries that seperate the games from the manga from the anime. Did that make sense?

Also, Infi's an android. Er... Gynoid. Derp.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four

Raven opened her eyes quickly to find herself in a small bed. She sat up quickly and looked around. She immediately saw a giant screen, filled with numbers and grids and weird blinking lights…

A man sat in a chair in front of said screen, typing away and not seeming to notice her.

Raven frowned. Did this guy kidnap her or something? Where were the others? Which reminded her, what exactly had happened…?

Despite the fact that she wasn't making any noise, the man suddenly turned around and looked at her.

"Ah!" Raven started and then screamed. "Someone help me! There's a creepy guy with gray hair but he only looks like he's 20! Help me!"

"Ah, just relax, okay?" he said and waved his hand. "Come on, calm down… Please, stop screaming… Hey…"

Seeing as how Raven wasn't going to stop screaming anytime soon, he let out a sigh and shrugged. "Infi, please calm her down."

"Very well," a voice said. Raven felt something touch her shoulder and looked up to see a woman with rainbow-colored hair standing next to her. Wait, rainbow-colored hair…?

"Oh, god, it's a clown!" she screamed and covered her face. "Go away, I hate clowns!"

"…It's not working," the woman said and looked back at the man. "Master Zero, what should I do?"

"…I don't know. Knock her out, maybe?"

"Very well," she said and touched her fingertips together, causing electricity to start sparking. She then leaned towards Raven to touch her with her electrical fingertips.

Raven screamed some more and quickly kicked the woman in her head. A nasty popping noise accompanied with the kick, and the woman's head stayed at a creepy unnatural position.

"Oh god! I killed the clown! But she's still alive!"

"Will you calm down?" the man asked, a tone of annoyance in his voice. "Let me explain, will you? Oh, Infi, come over here, I'll pop your head back in place…"

As the woman headed over to him, he took her head and jerked it sideways, which was accompanied with another pop, and then her head was back in a normal position. "Thank you, Master."

"It's fine, it's fine!" he said and laughed. He then turned back to Raven. "Anyways… My name is Zero, and this is Infi."

"Why don't you have normal names!"

"Infi's my android," he explained. "Also… You're now in the Distortion World, so I imagine you must've touched that black thing everyone's talking about."

"W-what're you talking about?"

"You're in my ship right now…" Zero continued. "…Are you listening? Hello?"

"Should I bring her outside?" Infi asked.

"Hm… Sure, go ahead."

Infi quickly picked up Raven underneath one of her arms and headed towards a door that Raven hadn't noticed. It opened automatically, and Infi dropped her on the ground.

The sky was a dark, bluish color. And the ground was, simply, plain brown. Out in the distance, she could see several explosions, blasts of electricity, flames…

"W-what is this…?"

"The Distortion World," Infi answered and pointed. "Out there, your friends are currently fighting against Team Galactic."

"What? I gotta join them…!"

"No. Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because," she began and looking down at Raven. "They said you'd only be a nuisance."

"…"

"…"

"…A nuisance?"

"Yes. Would you like to hear a playback of it?"

"…No. That's fine." Raven sighed and slapped her forehead. "…Then, what am I supposed to do?"

"You could help me clean?"

"Oh, sure, I'll do that!"

And so, Raven and Infi headed back into the ship Raven hadn't bothered to take a second look at, heading off to clean the many rooms inside the ship…

* * *

"Alright, main room is finished!" Raven sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. So far, she and Infi had cleaned every room in the ship, except for Zero's room, which he demanded that no one go in. Also, Raven seemed to be the only one exhausted, and Infi seemed to have never-ending stamina.

As she said that, someone else walked into the ship. It was an older man with orange hair, wearing a red shirt and an overly large backpack on his back. And, much to Raven's surprise, Yellow was following behind him, as well as Thorton.

"…What're you two doing?" she asked.

"We could ask the same thing to you," Thorton grumbled and looked around at the pails of water sitting around on the floor, along with towels, mops, brooms, and some weird kind of air-freshener that said, "New Smell! Oran Berry + Sitrus Berry!"

"That's simple. Infi and I were cleaning."

"Fine. Our answer is also simple: Yellow and I accompanied Mr. Graceland as he gathered information about Team Galactic's current whereabouts, as well as things concerning their usage of Pokémon and certain times that they change those keeping watching. Also, they aren't very smart."

Raven looked up at the man. "Mr. Graceland…?"

"Oh, sorry!" he laughed and held out his hand. "I'm Newton Graceland, nice to meet you!"

"Ah, yeah, nice to meet you too!" she quickly said and grabbed his hand. "Uh… I'm still confused."

"Well, you and your friends were unconscious when you came here but, luckily, we brought you here before Team Galactic got to you guys first," he explained and walked over to where a metal table was, slipping off his backpack and rummaging through it. "Don't worry - all of your friends are with us!"

"Oh… Okay…" Raven mumbled and then looked back at Yellow and Thorton. She grinned before running over to Yellow and hugging her tightly. "Yellow!~ I was so worried!"

"Me too! I thought you wouldn't ever come back!~"

Thorton simply walked away from the two and looked at the papers Newton had pulled out of his bag. "Those are the notes, I assume?"

"Yellow, did you meet Red and Green yet?"

"Oh, yeah, but I had already met them before… Back when I lived in Kanto…"

"Ehhhh? Really?"

Meanwhile, Thorton, Newton, and Zero were looking over the papers Newton had taken out. Zero picked up a hideous sketch of a Team Galactic member. "…What's this?"

"Oh, Yellow drew that!" he said and started laughing. "She's an artist!

Honestly, the drawing looked like it was done by a three year old, but Zero kept his mouth shut and continued looking at the papers. Meanwhile, Infi had walked up to them and asked…

"Would you like anything to drink? Tea? Orange juice? Lemonade? Water? Milk? S-"

"No, no, that's fine, we don't need anything," said Zero and Infi nodded before heading over to Raven and Yellow and asking them the same question, firing off a ton of options to drink to the two girls.

* * *

Later on, everyone had gathered back at Zero's ship-thing. Of course, as far as Raven noticed, there was only Sinnoh's gym leaders, the Frontier Brains, and other people she knew.

"Alright, guys. The other gym leaders should be arriving within the next couple of days, but tonight, we're launching a night attack!"

Raven raised her hand. "What's a night attack?"

"It's an attack… at night."

"No. Way."

"Yes. Way."

"Come onnnn, stop playing around!" Jun snapped, jogging in place. "Hurry, hurry!"

"Sorry, sorry," Newton laughed and continued explaining. "Anyways, judging by my information, the Team Galactic members typically use weak Pokémon like Zubat, Stunky, Glameow, Croagunk, Houndour, Murkrow, and Wurmple. That said, they all seem to have an abundance of them, so facing those kinds of Pokémon in a large group could be problematic.

"That said, the real problems lie within the trainer helping out Team Galactic; the man named Butler. He has several powerful Pokémon, such as Flygon and Salamence. Charon also has control of Heatran, so we'll need to be wary of the fire attacks, got it?"

Everyone nodded in agreement and Newton rolled out a map on the table.

"We start from our base here. Now, we'll need to break up into several groups and plan the times to leave accordingly. The first ones to go will be "The Observers". The ones in this group are Pearl, Silver, Roark, and Infi, who will relay information back to us.

"Once we have that information, the next ones to leave will be "The Attackers". That group will consist of Jun, Palmer, Raven, and Dahlia. They, quite simply, will start attacking Team Galactic and attempt to break down their defenses. Soon enough, we'll call you back, so," Newton paused and looked at the four of them. "Just do what we say, and get back."

"Fine, fine! Don't look at us like we wouldn't listen to you!"

"Yeah, 'cause we totally wouldn't do that."

Newton sighed and continued talking. "Next up, while the others retreat, we'll have "The Defenders", who will consist of Yellow, Argenta, Dawn, and Fantina. You guys will do your best to stall Team Galactic while the next offensive team starts to leave.

"Right, following up is the second attacking team, "The Offensive". That'll consist of Brendan, Red, Green, and Cynthia. Now, if this team doesn't manage to completing destroy Team Galactic, then we'll send everyone else back out to support you, got it? All right, the plan starts at 11 PM… Don't be late!"

"YEAH!"

* * *

Newton comes up with 100% lame-ass names. :D I did it intentionally too.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

Author's Notes: Oh yeah, we put da plan in MOTION! YEAHHHH!

...I'm so sorry.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five

"All right, I'm sending the data now," Infi said quietly. She and the others of her group stood atop a rocky ledge, looking out at where Team Galactic stood. They had several grunts on guard, protecting the area where Butler and Charon stood with Heatran and Jirachi, the latter who was still surrounded by the black thing. The darkness extended from the little Pokémon's body, up into the sky, where it seemed to fade away…

Back at the ship, windows popped up on the screen as Zero said, "We're receiving the data… Okay, everyone, this is what it looks like."

Everyone gathered around to look at the pictures Infi had sent them, which showed the positions on the grunts and how many of them there were.

"Alright, Infi and the others, just stay there, okay?" Zero asked and then turned around to face everyone. "Alright, let's have the next group go out!"

"Yeah!" Jun shouted and ran to the exit, dragging Raven along and then jogging in place. "Come on, come on, come on!"

Palmer and Dahlia headed there as well, and the group of four hurried outside and began running towards the direction that Team Galactic was.

It was deathly silent out there, aside from the sound of their footsteps and breathing. As they got closer to them, they could all heard a vague noise that sounded like something slurping… Was that what the black thing sounded like?

"Let's do a battle cry!" Palmer suggested and the other three all nodded excitedly before roaring like a bunch of animals as they approached the Team Galactic grunts.

"…?"

The grunts immediately sent out their own Pokémon to attack the incoming group, while they also sent out their own Pokémon. Needless to say, Team Galactic's Pokémon didn't stand a chance against the powerful Pokémon they had and the grunts began running around in confusion.

Other grunts came out from somewhere to take their place but, much to their opponents' surprise, they sent out different Pokémon than the ones they thought they owned; they were all evolved forms of the Pokémon Team Galactic used.

"Hey, when did they get those kinds of Pokémon?" Jun snapped. "Well, whatever!… Infernape, Flare Blitz!"

Infernape covered itself in fire before launching itself at the attacking Pokémon, slamming a ton of them backwards and even managing to burn a couple of the grunts.

"Dragonite, Aqua Tail!" Palmer ordered as his Pokémon surrounded its tail with a spiral of water and slammed it into the other Pokémon.

Dahlia was about to give an order to her Pokémon when she suddenly cupped her ear, trying to hear the voice from the earpiece she wore. "Okay, guys, Zero says to pull back now!"

"What? We've barely done anything!" Jun and Palmer both said in unison.

"Hey, weren't you guys the ones that said, 'Don't look at us like we wouldn't listen to you!'?" Raven mumbled.

"No one ever said that!" Jun argued and Raven began glaring at him.

"Whatever, let's go!" Dahlia said and began running off, the other three following her reluctantly.

As they were running back, they passed by the next group going to take their place; Raven and Yellow both high-fived each other, which Jun rolled his eyes at and muttered something under his breath.

They reached the base and all sat down in exhaustion, looking at the screen that was displaying what was currently happening; apparently, Infi could send things live as she saw them through her eyes.

"…Well, there were evolved Pokémon!" Jun randomly announced and everyone else turned around.

"…Yeah. We saw that."

"Well, make note of it."

"Bite me."

Meanwhile, Yellow, Argenta, Dawn, and Fantina were doing a decent job of stalling Team Galactic; inflicting status problems, but not causing the Pokémon to faint.

"Alright, the next group, get out there!" Zero ordered and they all immediately left, hurrying off to help the others.

Brendan quickly sent out his Swampert, who looked around at the area in bewilderment before stating, "We're not in Kansas anymore!"

"…Er, yeah… Use Earthquake!"

Swampert shrugged and slammed himself down on the ground, shaking the entire area. Nearly everyone else fell down from the shaking, and a majority of the Team Galactic grunts assumed that the earthquake was a natural result of their location and began screaming like it was the end of the world.

"…Wow, these guys really are dumb…" Pearl muttered, watching everything from a distance.

"That is one of their bad points," Infi said. "Or rather, it would be good points for us, their stupidity."

Red had sent out his Pikachu and merely ordered, "Thunderbolt."

"Pidgeot, Air Slash!" Green shouted. His Pidgeot lifted its wing, spirals of wind twirling around it for a mere moment before the wind launched itself at the Pokémon, knocking out a lot of them.

…And yet again, Team Galactic assumed that the wind was also of natural causes and screamed some more. They didn't give their Pokémon orders, so their Pokémon stood there, clueless on what to do.

Red's Pikachu then let out a thunderbolt, electrocuting the rest of the standing Pokémon. At this point, it looked like there were no more Team Galactic grunts with any Pokémon…

"Finished!" Green said proudly and then glanced over at Cynthia, who was tapping her fingers together with a disappointed look on her face. "…What's wrong with you?"

"I didn't even get a chance to battle…" she whined. Her own Pokémon, a tall, dark blue one, stood next to her and patted her shoulder.

Just then, sparks of electricity began traveling across the ground at a high speed, electrocuting all the grunts as well as the four of them and their Pokémon. Red's Pikachu, Cynthia's creepy dragon Pokémon, and Brendan's Swampert didn't seem to really notice the electricity and looked at everyone else in confusion.

"…Hey, Bren, why you making a face like that? Bren?"

"Pika, pika?"

Swampert looked back at Pikachu. "What, you can't speak human? Huh? I'm just an idiot and can't understand what you're saying?… Oh, my god, you're right!"

"T-that…" Cynthia began and fell to the ground. "Was… electrifying!"

Swampert and Pikachu began laughing hysterically at her terrible pun while her own Pokémon simply shook its head.

"…Discharge…" Red mumbled quietly.

"What? Discharge? You seriously need to go see a doctor if you have that."

Red shook his head. "No… Discharge. Electric-type move. Attacks everything within a certain radius of the Pokémon emitting the attack. The radius depends on the amount of electricity emitted. Also has a thirty percent chance of-"

"Enough, stop sounding like an encyclopedia," Green muttered, pushing himself up and patting down his hair, which had begun to frizz from the static. "Damn… didn't expect that one at all."

"Yeah, we noticed," Swampert said and Green glared at him, immediately shutting him up. "I said nothing at all, sir."

"…So, where did it come from?" Cynthia asked, sounding very much like someone who drank a bit too much.

_Bzzt…_

They all looked up at that sound to see a Pokémon they had noticed before, standing… No, floating there. It was orange, with a bluish aura around it.

"…What's that?" Brendan asked, surprisingly calm.

"That's…!" Cynthia began, only to end up being electrocuted yet again as the Pokémon let out another flare of electricity. "Er… That's… Rotom…"

"Ro-what?" Swampert asked, yet again immune to the Pokémon's attack.

"Rotom," she repeated, slumping over to lay on the ground. "Ah, my body is not made to resist such shocking blows."

Yet again, Swampert and Pikachu began laughing at her pun.

The Pokémon, Rotom, didn't seem to really like the fact that Swampert, Pikachu, and Cynthia's Pokémon were unaffected by its electricity, and decided to do something different; it began conjuring up a dark gust of wind, which it directed at the other three.

"Ohmigod, it smells like Dad's old socks!" Swampert screamed and fell to the ground dramatically. Pikachu did the same thing, saying something unintelligible and falling backwards. Cynthia's Pokémon seemed to be the only one who didn't sustain too much damage (or rather, the only one who didn't dramatically fall backwards.)

Something suddenly whizzed by the group, flying towards Rotom and slamming into it. The object fell to the ground, revealing itself to be… Raven's Magnemite.

…She had thrown the tiny metal Pokémon like it was a weapon.

"…Do Magnemite usually fly that fast?" Cynthia asked and looked at the other three.

"No, but…" Brendan began and looked behind himself. "It probably belonged to Raven."

"What's that mean?"

"That means she probably threw it."

"Threw it?"

Surely enough, Raven was running towards them with Jun and an unwilling Lucas by her side. She and Jun both held Lucas's arms, dragging him towards them.

"We're here to help!"

Red waved slightly before giving them the thumbs-up sign. It was probably directed at Raven and her "Magnemite Throw."

Jun sent out his Infernape, who immediately launched off a series of flame-covered punches and kicks.

Lucas tossed his own Poké Ball, showing as much enthusiasm as a Slowpoke. A brown, dinosaur-like Pokémon with a large tree on its back came out. It, much like its trainer, had the enthusiasm as a Slowpoke.

Lucas climbed onto the Pokémon's back and held out his hand to Raven. "Come on, get up here!"

Raven quickly climbed up to sit next to Lucas. Meanwhile, Lucas gave an order to his Pokémon; "Torterra, use Leaf Storm!"

Torterra nodded slightly as several leaves began to fall from the tree on its back. The leaves began spinning around, faster and faster, until Torterra finally made a motion towards Rotom, and then the leaves went flying towards it.

Infernape, who was still attempting to hit Rotom, moved out of the way as the leaves approached, the leaves striking Rotom. Despite that, Rotom seemed to sustain minimal damage, and focused its attention back on Infernape, who had yet again begun to unleash punches and kicks in quick succession. That said, it didn't seem to quite get through Infernape's head that none of the attacks were actually making impact; they were actually going through the Pokémon.

"Okay, guys, change of plans!" Cynthia ordered, listening to an earpiece she wore. "We need to pull back, immediately!"

"Say what?" Jun snapped. "Fine - but not without parting words!"

He pointed at Rotom, as well as the Team Galactic members who lay on the ground, either playing dead or unconscious. Or maybe really dead.

"I'll be back!… Hasta la vista!"

Lucas gasped. "Jun, you can speak Spanish?"

"Whatever!" Jun snapped and jumped onto Torterra, his Infernape jumping next to him. "Let's go!"

All of a sudden, Red was there, sitting right behind Lucas and Raven with his head resting on their shoulders. They both screamed and jumped away, not having noticed the boy.

Lucas calmed down and tapped Torterra's head, saying, "Let's head back, 'kay?"

Torterra grumbled and slowly turned around, walking off with the other trainers…

…And Raven's Magnemite only just noticed that everyone else was gone, and flew after them with a look on panic on its face… er, eye.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

Author's Notes: ...You wanna know something? I've been writing so much that I forgot to post the chapters. In fact, right now, I've already finished Chapter Forty.

...Yeeeaaahhh.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six

Everyone had decided to go to sleep for the night while Newton, Zero, Cynthia, Argenta, and Darach overlooked everything that had happened for the day.

However, their peace was short-lived.

At some time around 1:00 AM, the other gym leaders, from Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto, all arrived into the Distortion World, all of them extremely confused as to what was going on. Luckily, they accepted everything Newton explained to them without any questions, and so yet again, everyone else went back to sleep.

…And then the peace was broken yet again.

Somewhere around 3:00 AM, someone came to the ship's front door, banging on it loudly. Since Zero was still awake (he appeared to be able to stay up for long periods of time), he reluctantly opened up the door to see who it was.

And then, he went and woke everyone else up, and they all unwillingly gathered into the main room.

Their visitor was Diane.

"So, Ms. Diane, what brings you here today?" Newton asked, sitting across from her at the metal table.

"Well… I've come to help you," she simply said and looked at all of them. She had an unsure look on her face, as if she was thinking whether or not she should do what she was doing. "You may or may not know… But I was Butler's assistant, as well as his friend."

"Is that so?" Newton asked and began nodding. "Go on?"

"Right… I believe what he's doing is wrong, and, well, I've decided to help you guys stop him," Diane continued, "He recently began working with Team Galactic after they requested his help, as well as offering to pay him money… Initially, they were only going to capture Heatran and sell it, or something like that… But then, they heard about Jirachi, and were intent on finding it and making a wish to force the entire world here."

"It's not working too well, though," one of Kanto's gym leaders, an orange haired girl wearing shorts and a yellow jacket, said. "That thing… It wasn't as big as we thought it was going to be… In fact, it didn't cover the entire island at all! Like, the Battle Frontier place, we can see all the buildings and stuff clearly."

"Really?" Green asked. "It was covering the ocean when we came here."

"Huh? Are you sure?"

"No, I'm just lying because it's fun," Green rolled his eyes as he said this.

"…This is bad," Newton simply said. "If it's getting smaller, that means we're running out of time… If we can't get Jirachi by the time the blackness shrinks to nothing, it won't be able to take energy from the Millennium Comet…"

"…And what's that mean?"

Newton looked up at everyone with a deathly serious face. "It'll go back to sleep, and we won't be able to get out of here."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

Everyone looked among each other with varying looks of uncertainty.

Lyra raised her hand. "…That's bad, right?"

And then everyone else groaned and slapped their foreheads.

However, the only one whose expression hadn't changed at all from the moment they saw Diane, was Raven. She simply had a look of anger, and maybe disbelief.

"Hm? What's wrong, Raven?" Lucas asked, finally noticing her expression. Everyone else also looked at Raven.

Raven looked down at the ground, biting her lip for a moment before walking over to Diane. She stopped right in front of the woman, then looked up at her.

"W-why…?"

Diane looked away from her, as if she wasn't standing there at all. She still looked unsure, though.

"I asked you… Not to tell anyone!" she shouted, much to everyone else's surprise. "Why? You said you wouldn't tell anyone!"

Diane finally looked at her, but only for a moment. "I… I had to."

"You didn't have to! If you knew what he was going to do… If you knew what he wanted… And… you…" At that, Raven suddenly began crying, tears streaming down her face, and she began wiping her face. "Why? It's all your fault!"

Jun glanced at Gold, who stood next to him. "Any idea what she's going on about?"

"Nope. Not a clue."

Raven was still standing in front of Diane, crying and saying single words over and over again. At that, Pearl finally stepped over to her and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards herself.

"What're you talking about, Raven?"

"She… It's her fault!" Raven cried. "She found out that I had Jirachi… She told me she wouldn't tell anyone… And then, she told Butler that, and that's how he got Jirachi!"

Pearl's face went blank as she looked up at Diane. So… That's why Butler had sent them to Mt. Coronet, why he told them to leave their Pokémon behind, how he found out that Raven had Jirachi…

And Pearl simply glared at the woman, pulling Raven away towards the rooms they were staying in, leaving Diane sitting there, a pained expression on her face…

* * *

Infi sat dutifully next to the bed where Raven lay fast asleep, tears staining her face. Infi didn't blink, or for that matter, even move, yet she was still watching her, carefully…

"…Does Infi ever blink?" Pearl asked, peeking into the room.

"Infi, blink," Zero ordered. "It'll make you look more human-like."

Infi looked up at them for a moment before slowing blinking. Once. And then she didn't blink for another five minutes.

They had let Diane stay there with them, although no one seemed to want to talk to her after figuring out that she was partially at fault for Butler's obtaining of Jirachi.

Diane didn't seem to mind the fact that everyone was looking at her oddly, and was telling Newton and Zero everything she knew about Butler's plans and what he may try to do.

And, while Newton left for a moment to go get them something to drink, Diane noticed that everyone was looking at her still. Finally, she snapped.

"You don't have to look at me like that, you know."

Jun, who was nearby, responded to her quickly with, "We have every right too! This probably never would've happened if you hadn't told that guy about Jirachi!"

Diane stood up from her seat to look at him. "Put yourself in my place for a moment. If you wanted to help your best friend find a Pokémon, and you found that Pokémon, wouldn't you tell them?"

"It's not like that!" Jun snapped. "You _knew_ what he wanted to do with Jirachi!"

"I didn't know until after he already did it!"

"You're a liar!"

"I am _not_!"

"Enough, enough," Newton interrupted, placing a cup down in front of Diane, who quickly thanked him and took a sip of the drink. "Anyways, Ms. Diane, do you realize that Butler's plan… isn't quite working out the way he thought it would?"

She blinked a couple of times before shaking her head. "Sorry, what?"

"According to the other gym leaders that arrived a while ago, they said that the blackness is shrinking… And once it completely disappears, Jirachi won't be in contact with the comet anymore and will go back to sleep, and we'll all be stuck here."

"I have a feeling you said something similar to that earlier in the chapter…" Jun grumbled but no one seemed to hear him.

"He's most likely unaware of that," Diane sighed. "In that case, we should hurry then. I'll help you all make plans."

"All right!" Newton exclaimed and pumped his fist in the air. "Let's do this!"

Everyone else weakly put their hands in the air and shouted, "Yeah…" with as much enthusiasm as a dead person.

* * *

"Wake up!"

Raven opened her eyes, albeit slowly, and looked around to see Lucas sitting at a small bench next to the bed she was in.

"…Huh?"

Lucas grinned. "It's time!… To start the final battle!"

"What, already? How long did I sleep?"

"Pretty long, actually. So long that Infi actually had to leave your side to go recharge her battery."

"…Infi runs on a battery?"

"I guess so."

"Well, anyways…" Raven mumbled and jumped out of the bed, putting on her pair of shoes aligned neatly alongside it. She grabbed Lucas's arm and they both ran out of the room, heading to where everyone was meeting up…


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

Author's Notes: My story pacing ability sucks.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"All right everyone. I've determined by the speed of the portal closing that this will be our final battle. As such, we need to do our best to complete it, no matter what. Or we won't be able to leave this place."

No one said anything, but they all wore determined expressions on their faces.

"We'll once again be breaking up into different groups and leaving at different times, but this time, we need to direct our path around the Team Galactic grunts and get to Jirachi directly. Therefore, we'll need some of you to volunteer to be decoys, alright? Anyone wanna go?"

One of the gym leaders, a boy with brown, spiky hair wearing an orange shirt, raised his hand. "I'll go! My Pokémon will be able to keep on fighting for a long time, so it should keep them all from noticing everyone else."

"Alright! Brock has volunteered!" Newton said happily and scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Why he was writing down Brock's name, no one knew.

"…I might as well volunteer too," a girl sighed and flipped back her long brown hair.

"Oooh! Another volunteered! Let's see… Let's put down R-O-X-Y…"

"My name's not Roxy!" she snapped but he ignored her.

"So far, Brock and Roxy have volunteered! Anyone else? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!~"

"My name's not Roxy!"

Another boy, this one with red hair, raised his hand. "I'll go too! Besides, it'll be cool to battle alongside the other regions' rock-type gym leaders!"

At that, he turned towards Brock and Roxy… I mean, Roxanne and gave them the thumbs-up. Brock returned his gesture but Roxanne pretended she hadn't seen it.

"Oh, put my name down as 'The Rock', okay?"

"All right!" Newton exclaimed and scribbled down his name. "I think that's good enough! For the decoys, we've got Brock, Roxy, and The Rock! Do your best, you guys!

"Next up, we'll have the ones to work around them and try to get to Jirachi first. Now, I'm putting Raven in this group because of her ability…"

"Uh, what ability do I have?" Raven asked.

Newton looked at her blankly for a quick moment before looking to where her father, Norman, stood. "Wait, she doesn't know?"

"Know what? Tell meeee!" Raven whined and began jogging in place.

"Oh, it's nothing much!" Norman laughed and began waving his hand around. "You just emit strong pheromones that attract Pokémon to you, that's all!"

"Oh, that's all. Jeez, you made it sound like something important."

The two both began laughing like it was hilarious and, for some reason or another, Lucas joined them in their laughter. When they saw that no one else was laughing with them, they quieted down.

"Sorry. Don't have to look at us like we just pulled a gun on you or something."

"Oookay," Newton said and scribbled down Raven's name. "Let's see… Who should accompany her?"

"Let me go!" Jun shouted and began jumping. "Raven and I kick ass together! Yeah!"

"Okay, not Jun," Newton simply said and looked around at everyone, tapping the pen on his chin. "Let's see…"

"Awww, come on! Let me go! I wanna go! Let me!"

Newton sighed and scribbled down Jun's name. "Let's see… How about we put Morty and Bugsy with you guys?"

Jun laughed. "Who're those two with the lame-ass names, huh?"

"…We're right behind you, you know," a blonde boy standing behind him said and Jun stopped laughing abruptly.

"…Those are really cool names!" Jun lied and gave them the thumbs-up.

"Yeeeaahhh, right."

Jun and Raven were deciding among themselves what to do while Newton continued sorting everyone else into groups. Morty occasionally interrupted their discussion with an idea but they looked at him like they didn't know who he was. The other person, Bugsy, was no where to be seen, but was probably somewhere nearby.

"All right, everyone!" Newton finally exclaimed and handed one person in each group a small earpiece. "If you need to communicate with us, just use the earpiece. We'll do the same, yaddayadda."

Now, Newton didn't really say yaddayadda. That's just what it sounded like to Raven and Jun, who looked like they were about to take off running at any moment.

"Okay, first group, get out there and distract Team Galactic! There's no room for mistakes! Get out there and do your best!"

"YEAH!"

* * *

Within the next half hour, Brock, The Rock, and Roxy… I mean, Roxanne were doing a decent job of keeping Team Galactic busy, and Raven, Jun, Bugsy, and Morty had left the base/ship/large chunk of metal that did nothing and were heading around the group.

The Distortion World, both unluckily and luckily, had lots of rocks and cave-like areas. However, for some reason, some places would seem farther away then they actually were, and the group (specifically, Jun) ran into places were it looked like there was no rocks, but there actually. Once they realized that the rock that looked far away was actually right in front of them, they could see it.

"I see… Is this why they call is the Distortion World?"

Raven stated the obvious.

"It truly is… a place of distortions!" Bugsy finished and they both started laughing like it was the funniest thing they ever heard. On the other hand, Jun wasn't in such a good mood. It still hadn't got through his thick skull that the only reason they were letting him run ahead was so that they wouldn't run into rocks themselves.

"Quit laughing!" Jun snapped, rubbing his nose. Surprisingly, it hadn't started bleeding yet, despite the fact that he'd run into things multiple times.

"Oh, Jun, stop being so egotistical. We aren't laughing about you, or at you… Probably."

And yet again, the two began laughing some more, while Jun stood there fuming and Morty simply stayed silent. However, he was looking off into the distance, or rather, at several figures hurrying towards them.

"…Get inside the cave," Morty ordered.

"What?"

"Get inside the cave!" he repeated and pushed the three of them into the large cave that Jun had run into. They hurried into the darkness before crouching down against the wall…

Nothing seemed to pass by the entrance for a while, but Morty continuously told them to stop talking. Eventually, he slowly stood up and whispered, "Stay here, and don't move."

"Who died and left you in charge, huh?" Jun snapped.

"I'm the oldest, so I'm in charge."

"Bastard."

Morty put a finger over his lips and headed to the entrance of the cave. He looked around cautiously, stepping outside slowly. He continued looking around and, after seeing nothing, looked back at the other three.

"The coast is clear!" he said and then suddenly looked up. "No… stay back in there!"

Something flew downwards and struck Morty in the face. The three all watched in horror as blood splattered to the ground and Morty fell to his knees, covering up his face.

"Fwahahaha!"

The only person -or rather, people- who would laugh in such a stupid way would be none other than some Team Galactic grunts.

…They had been hiding on top of the cave, waiting for them to come out before launching an attack. A smart move, at least for them.

Several of them jumped down from the top, surrounding Morty and looking back inside the cave.

"Come on out, kids! If you do, we might not hurt your friend here!"

The three looked at each other unsurely and then back at the cave entrance. "…"

"…Go on without me!" Morty shouted and tossed a Poké Ball in the air, letting out a dark purple Pokémon. Apparently, Team Galactic hadn't been expecting this, and they all jumped away in shock.

"They can only leave through the cave entrance, though!" one of them laughed. "So, they'll still have to get by us!"

Bugsy sighed and looked at the other two. "Unfortunately, that guy's right. This cave is a dead end…"

"Pichu!"

The three looked at each other in surprise and, after concluding that none of them were the ones who did a Pichu impression, looked behind themselves.

A Pichu stood there, looking up at them with a determined expression.

"Oh, Raven, is that your Pichu?" Jun asked. "Why'd you let him out now?"

"That's not my Pichu, you idiot," she snapped and looked at the Pichu. It then struck her where she'd seen it before. "…That ear! This Pichu is…!"

The Pichu, who had one ear with several spiky chunks sticking up, hurried off to the back of the cave, making a motion for them to follow it.

"…This rat better know what it's doing…" Jun grumbled as they hurried off after it.

The Pichu continued off to the back of the cave until they reached a wall. This was the end of the cave, so there was nowhere else to go…

However, it hurried off to a corner of it and headed down a small, barely noticeable tunnel. With Bugsy going first, they all crouched down and began crawling through the small tunnel. Luckily, since the three were all pretty small, they were able to go through it without much trouble. On the other hand, Morty wouldn't have been able to fit through it at all.

The end of the tunnel led them outside, to the area outside the cave. The Pichu ran over to where a man in a long, black trench coat stood, hopping up onto the man's shoulders.

"Good job, Pichu! Hey, you kids alright?"

Jun and Raven simply looked at the man in shock, while Bugsy thanked him a couple of times. When the boy finally noticed that the other two were uncharacteristically quiet, he simply asked…

"What's wrong?"

"…It's you again," Raven quietly said.

"You weren't lying at all…" Jun trailed off.

"What? What're you guys talking about?"

"This guy… is Dawn's father!"

"…And?"

Jun and Raven both looked at Bugsy like he should've known the answer to that. "…He's supposed to be dead!"


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

Author's Notes: ...I can't come up with names at all. And I don't understand time-travel. Yeaahhh.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Oh, jeez, you told everyone about me, didn't you? I bet Dawn didn't believe you at all, did she? Hahah!"

"Yeah, hahah, she slapped me," Raven grumbled back to him.

"Oh, she did, did she? Huh… Well, anyways, I'll help you guys out for the rest of the way!"

"Wait, how do you know what we're doing?"

"…I spied on you guys. But anyways, let's go!"

"Wait… if you're dead, why are you here?"

He looked back at the three extremely confused children and said, "That's easy. I time traveled."

"…You're joking, right?"

"Nope, not joking at all. So, wait… That would make me a time-traveler!"

"…"

Should've seen that one coming. Or not.

"…Time-traveler? What?"

"Long story short… The day I died, a Pokémon appeared to save me just seconds before my skull smashed into the ground…"

"Too much info."

"But anyways. It time-traveled me just a couple of seconds ahead of time so I wouldn't crash into the ground…"

"Wait, but you're dead, aren't you? They found your body, didn't they?"

"Oh, yeah. But the me from future had already crashed into the ground. Lots of yucky stuff everywhere."

"Wait, what? How can you be there and have your dead body there at the same time? Like, doesn't that cause paradoxes?"

"Not necessarily."

"Get out of here."

"Aw, come on! I'm here to help!"

Jun and Raven looked at each other and then back at Bugsy, who merely shrugged. Considering that none of them knew squat about time-travel, they couldn't really argue back with him… So they looked back at Dawn's father and said, "…Fine."

"Oh, yippee!"

"Don't say that. It's creepy when grown men say yippee."

"Whatever. Let's go!"

At that, he spun around and began hurrying off, the other three reluctantly following him.

"Say, what's this guy's name?" Bugsy whispered.

"Um…" Raven looked at Jun. "What's his name?"

Jun shrugged and shouted, "Hey! What's your name?"

"Shawn!"

"There you have it," Jun said and looked at Bugsy. "His name's Shane."

"…He just said Shawn."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

They could see Morty and his Pokémon fighting against Team Galactic; luckily, he was putting up a decent fight and apparently Team Galactic hadn't been expecting him to send out a Pokémon. They had enough brains to stand on the top of the cave and wait for them, but they didn't anticipate him sending out a Pokémon?

As they hurried ahead, Jun and Raven both fired off a rapid session of questions at Shawn.

"What's it with the Pichu?"

"Where have you been all these years, playing dead?"

"What kind of Pokémon did you time-travel with?"

"Do time-travelers eat food?"

"Can you travel into the past or only into the future?"

"What about all those paradoxes?"

"What kind of time-travel theory exists here?"

"What about the grandfather paradox?"

"How is it possible to travel forward in time? That would mean that the future has already be predetermined, right?"

"Ooh, Raven, that was a big word for you! Predetermined, huh?"

"Shut it."

Bugsy sighed. Having to listen them was exhausting enough. He himself was pretty smart, but he couldn't figure out this time-travel stuff…

"All right, I'll answer your questions!" Shawn said. "This Pichu is also a time-traveler!"

"Oh shit."

"It's time-traveled so much that it can't even evolve into Pikachu! Second question… I've been doing what I do best; traveling! So long as I didn't run into you guys or anyone who knows me, it was fine!

"Third question! The Pokémon that rescued me was Celebi! Celebi is also responsible for Pichu's time-traveling. Also, Celebi travels along with us, but we kind of lost track of it…

"Fourth question! Yes, time-travelers eat food.

"Fifth question! Pichu and I can only travel into the future… If we go into the past, we'd cause a couple of problems…

"Speaking of paradoxes, that's why we can't travel into the past! Actually, I guess we could, but we'd have to meet up with the other self of that time and merge with them! Considering I'm kinda dead, I could only merge with the ones before my date of death! Well, I guess I could merge with my dead body but…

"Anyways, I can't figure out an answer to any of the other questions! Well, traveling forward in time… It was only by a couple of seconds, but… Hm… I guess that would mean the future is predetermined, right? No, wait, since I was already falling when I time-traveled, the one that crashed to the ground was the one from a couple of seconds before I traveled… Hm… I don't really know."

Jun and Raven nodded at everything he said, but it was pretty obvious that they got lost with what he was saying sometime after the time-traveling Pichu part. Bugsy, on the other hand, had a brain, unlike them, and seemed to understand everything he had told them.

* * *

They were now approaching another group of Team Galactic grunts, who stood there with their arms crossed and their Pokémon by their sides.

"We'll deal with these guys easily!" Jun laughed and sent out his Infernape. Raven sent out Guru-n and Bugsy sent out a red, bug-like Pokémon. Meanwhile, Shawn's Pichu jumped off his shoulder to join them.

"Hah! You fell for this trap!" one of the grunts shouted. "Press… the button!"

"Er, what?" Shawn asked as one of the grunts pressed a button.

The area around them lit up and, suddenly, everyone's Pokémon (Team Galactic's included) were sent flying into air. They crashed down to the ground farther away from them.

"This is one of our perfectly planned traps!" the same grunt who talked before said. "It's a Pokémon repelling circle!"

"…What?"

"I said it's a Pokémon repelling circle!"

"No, we heard that. What's a Pokémon repelling circle?"

"Quite simply: it's a circle that repels Pokémon!"

"No. Way."

The grunts all started laughing. "While repelling any and all Pokémon, it also traps all humans within the circle! Try to escape and your body parts might be severed off! Hah!"

"Aw, crap!" Shawn sighed and sat down on the ground. "We're totally stuck."

The other three reluctantly sat down as well, and so did the grunts, who'd begun to play rock-paper-scissors among themselves.

"How to escape, how to escape…"

"…Couldn't we, like, just jump out of the circle?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, as long as we don't end up leaving a part back in the circle while we jump, we should be fine…" Bugsy agreed.

"…I hate you smart people," Jun grumbled.

"It's common sense, Jun," Raven said and patted his head before walking over to where the edge of the circle could clearly be seen; it was a bright, white line.

At that, she simply jumped over it and was out of the circle. Guru-n ran up to her, on the verge of tears.

"W-w-what was that?"

"It's fine, it's fine…" she said and began patted his head. She then looked back at the other three boys. "Are you coming?"

"…Right!" Jun shouted and dashed towards it. He leaped over it, landing safely on the other side. His Infernape jumped over to him; unlike Guru-n, it seemed to not be worried at all about the fact that it was just sent flying in the air.

Bugsy also jumped over it, followed by Shawn. However, Shawn's coat wasn't so lucky; it was still inside the circle when Shawn reached the outside, and suddenly, the remainder of the coat was sliced off.

"…Ah, that would've been bad, wouldn't it?" Raven mumbled.

Meanwhile, Team Galactic was just now noticing that they'd gotten outside. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? Rather… how the heck did you get outside our trap?"

They ignored the grunts and hurried off, leaving the confused people behind…

* * *

They were getting closer to Jirachi; they could tell by the sky, where the darkness could be seen spinning around the area. It was very much like a hurricane; the eye of the storm was where Jirachi was.

The four of them had taken a rest nearby a rock that, instead of Jun running into it, Shawn had run into.

"We're getting closer to those guys!" Jun said, stating the obvious. "…So, what should we do?"

"I just realized something…" Bugsy began slowly. "Morty was the one in our group who was given the earpiece, so we can't contact the others at all."

"Well, that sucks."

"Hey, yeah, what happened to that guy? What made him bleed like that?"

Bugsy sighed and shook his head. "Anyways… I have lots of bug Pokémon, and they can use String Shot to hold down anyone we run into. Jun, Raven, you guys go ahead after I keep them still. Once you get Jirachi, make a wish immediately…"

He paused and looked up at "eye of the storm". "Judging by the size of that, we've almost severed off contact with the real world… Once that disappears, Jirachi can't make anymore wishes. So, you guys have to make a wish on Jirachi, something like, 'Undo Butler's wish!' or maybe 'Return everyone to the real world!' Got it?"

"Wait, why do we have to do it?" Raven whined.

"Well, I've been watching you two… And I've decided, you're both a lot faster than I am, and you'd probably beat the crap out of anyone who'd stand in your way. So, just make that your number one goal… And charge forward! But don't go until I say so?"

Shawn raised his hand. "Teacher, what should I do?"

"Ah, you can help me keep Team Galactic busy!" Bugsy said and looked at Pichu. "Pichu's an electric-type Pokémon, so it should be able to paralyze them…"

"All right then… Let's go!"

The four of them stood up and began running towards the mountain-like area that Team Galactic was using Jirachi at…


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

Author's Notes: WhatisthisIdontevenknow...

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Nine

So far, so good. Red had been working together with Green, Dawn, and two other gym leaders that he didn't recognize. They were attacking Team Galactic aerially; luckily, none of the grunts seemed to understadn that fact and hadn't bothered to look up into the sky yet.

"I'm getting something…" Green shouted and pressed his hand to th eearpiece he wore. "Crap. Morty just arrived back at the base; he's bleeding and stuff. He said that he left Bugsy, Jun, and Raven to fight on their own…"

"…And?" Red asked.

Green sighed. "Those three are a couple of kids. Without Morty, they'll probably be lost and hopeless… Not to mention that Morty was the only one in their group able to communicate back with everyone else."

"Should we find them?" Dawn asked, her Togekiss flying closer to Red and Green to listen to them.

"Yeah, that's what Newton said we should do. Actually, you and Red go on ahead to find those three. The rest of us will stay here."

Dawn nodded and, looking at Red, the two began flying off north, trying to find the other three trainers…

* * *

"Take that, you bastards!" Jun laughed as both he and Infernape kicked away some Team Galactic grunts.

They'd reach the area and, unfortunately, had been spotted. Bugsy had used his Pokémon to get a bunch of them still while Shawn had used Pichu to paralyze those who weren't stuck with the gooey String Shot. That said, there still seemed to be enough of them to try and stop Jun and Raven from reaching the top of the mountain.

"Alright, I've got an idea!" Jun said as he stood back to back with Raven. "I'll keep this idiots busy… And Infernape will throw you to the top!"

"…What? Is that even possible?"

"Of course it is!" Jun sighed and shook his head. "Infernape's really strong, you know? Here, take Staraptor with you, he'll help you out. And in return, leave your Gallade with me!"

"What? Why?"

"Come on, just do it!"

Raven sighed as Jun handed her Staraptor's Poké Ball; in return, she handed him Guru-n's Poké Ball.

"Wait, can't Staraptor just fly me up there?"

"Yeah, but you might get attacked if you do that… If Infernape throws you, no one will be expecting that!"

Raven sighed and looked at Infernape, who nodded quickly. It picked her up, holding her underneath its arm, and then took aim and…

She literally flew through the air. Sure enough, no one had been expecting to see a girl be thrown to the top of it, and a lot of the grunts screamed at the sight of it.

She didn't quite reach the top, though. She landed on a ledge and, pulling herself up, hurried up the winding path that surrounded the mountain.

And was met with the sight of Butler and Charon, together with Rotom, Heatran, and a Salamence.

"Well, well, you're like a fly that just won't die, aren't you?" Butler laughed.

"…Where's Jirachi?"

"Oh, that little thing?" He pointed up into the sky, where Jirachi was floating by itself. Despite the fact that it was floating, it was rather limp… It must have been unconscious.

"If you really want to get it, though, you'll have to get by us."

At that, Heatran opened its mouth and blew out a blast of flames at Raven. The fire caught onto her hair, her clothes, her skin…

Raven immediately patted away the flames, which weren't very large, luckily. That said, the slight burns on her skin couldn't be as easily patted away…

"…"

"…That was just a warning, you know," Butler said. "If you turn around now and walk away, we won't attack you…"

"Answer a question, will you?"

"Fine, I'll listen."

Raven took in a deep breath and said, "Why are you doing this? Diane told me… It's cause of money, isn't it?"

"Not precisely."

"Then what is it, huh?"

"I believe that if everyone were to live in the Distortion World, we could fix so many problems, don't you think?"

"…?"

"For example… There is no sun here. What kind of problems could that fix?"

"I can't think of anything that it'd fix but-"

"Skin cancer."

"What?"

"Individuals who are prone to skin cancer from the sun could be safe here. Without the sunlight beating down on them, they'd be perfectly safe-"

"Yeah, but…" Raven paused and tried to think for a moment. "Think of all the things that wouldn't be fixed! Like… Like, trees wouldn't be able to grow, or any plants, and… Like, there's no water here! How could survive in a place with no water or sunlight?"

"It doesn't matter. We can figure that out eventually."

"Ohhhh, I wish I was smart so I could put up a legit argument!" Raven whined and began scratching her head.

"Well? Are you going to give up or not?"

"…Are you out of your mind? I'd never give up! I don't want to live here forever; I want to be outside, where I can be with my friends and have fun! So, no, I'm going to fight you!"

Butler glanced back at Charon, who nodded and began stepping back. Rotom, Heatran, and Salamence lined up in front of Butler, glaring at Raven.

"I won't hold back, you know," he sneered. "Rotom, Heatran, Salamence! Do whatever you please to the girl, so long as she's dead!"

"Ah, come on, you don't really mean you want me dead, do you?" Raven asked. However, the Pokémon had already begun attacking her; first with Rotom, who electrocuted her. Mere seconds after that, Heatran had unleashed several flames to her body. Finally, Salamence charged towards her and slammed into her, knocking her off the edge of the mountain peak.

She tumbled down to land on the winding path, and didn't move.

"Well! That was easier that I thought it was going to be!" Butler laughed. "Stupid girl didn't even send out any Pokémon to fight with…"

Raven's Pokémon, along with Jun's Staraptor, let themselves out of their Poké Balls to surround Raven.

"Hey! Stupid! Why didn't you send us out?"

"I-is she dead?"

"Can I eat her if she's dead?"

"No, you can't eat her! You're an idiot too!"

Piplup immediately began spraying water over her; he was no medic, but he knew at least that much.

Jun's Staraptor stepped around in place nervously, like it wasn't sure what exactly it should do.

"Alright, Cherrim, you can heal her, can't you?"

"I'm not a doctor or anything."

"I know that! Here's an idea…" Piplup stood in front of Cherrim and pointed down at Raven. "You use Leech Seed on me, and direct that energy towards Raven!"

Cherrim tilted his head. "Are you sure that's gonna work?"

"I don't know! Just do it!"

Cherrim shrugged, tossing a small seed at Piplup. The seed began sprouting several vines that wrapped around Piplup. The vines snaked their way towards Raven, wrapping themselves around her arm.

Piplup began to become noticeably tired as the vines glowed a light green color. At the same time, Raven scrapes and cuts began to disappear; on the other hand, the burns remained.

When she finally began to stir, they all let out a sigh of relief. Piplup looked at Cherrim and said, "Okay, take the vines off now."

"I can't."

"Whaddya mean you can't?"

"Not until you faint will those vines go away." At that, Cherrim began laughing hysterically. "It's the ultimate attack! Fwahaha!"

"…It really is an ultimate attack, isn't it!~" Chao added happily. She then floated over to Raven, rubbing her face against hers. "Are you okay?"

"Proba… bly…"

At that, she managed to push herself up, taking a quick glance at the vines around her hand. "What is…?"

"Oh, that's a Leech Seed!" Cherrim exclaimed and began laughing. "Piplup was so determined to save you that he asked me to plant it on him and direct the energy towards you!"

Raven looked over at Piplup, who was on the brink of fainting. "Aw, you did that just for me?"

"S-shut up!" Piplup snapped and looked away. "It's what anyone would do, right?"

"You're so tsundere!"

"I thought I told you to stop using that word! I'm not tsundere! Like I said, it's what anyone would do, right?"

"I wouldn't do that for you."

"You better!"

At that, they all began laughing. Apparently, they all forgot about the part where they were supposed to be stopping Butler…


	31. Chapter Thirty

Author's Notes: Um... we come to the climax of the not-very-grand fight. But, yeah. Whatever.

SERGEANTTTTT!1!

* * *

Chapter Thirty

He could hear laughter… That girl hadn't died at all, despite the blows she received. Was such a thing even possible…?

At that, he heard footsteps and was met with the sight of the annoying girl; Raven. She just kept coming back, didn't she? He already knew that she a troublesome one to deal with; back at Hoenn's Pokémon League tournament, she won her battles with tactics that normally couldn't be thought of in such short times. Every time she looked like she was about to lose, she turned the situation around and won.

He remembered back when he worked for Team Magma… Raven had been unaware of it, but he'd been working with them. Even then, she'd repeatedly stopped things they tried to do… When they tried to stop a volcano's activity, she appeared to stop them. Even then, she defied the odds and managed to put up a decent fight… That said, they still managed to succeed with what they were doing.

And when Groudon and Kyogre awoke, that girl managed to get one of the orbs under her control, unintentionally. She chased after Archie underground in an attempt to stop him… She must've been out of her mind, because she didn't stand a chance against him…

So imagine Butler's surprise when that very same child from a completely different region… Showed up where he'd begun to work at. He'd known she was going to cause trouble, especially if she had Jirachi with her. Luckily, she was gullible, and he managed to send her and her friends to Mt. Coronet.

Yet, even then, she escaped his trap.

She'd gathered all the gym leaders and now she was here, attempting to stop him from his plans.

"You… don't understand anything at all, do you?"

The look of determination on her face really pissed him off for some reason. She shouted, "Butler… I'm gonna stop you! I absolutely, positively will! Get ready!"

Butler smirked. "Very well. I thought that would've killed you… But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

At that, he jumped onto the back of his Salamence, who began flapping its powerful wings and soaring into the air.

"Then just try to stop me!"

She jumped onto the back of a Staraptor, her Piplup jumping onto her shoulder. The Pokémon took flight and flapped around to be in front of Butler.

"I will!"

* * *

Meanwhile, down the mountain, Dawn had joined Jun to fight Team Galactic. Much like he'd been doing with Raven, he stood back to back with Dawn.

"So? Did you see him?"

Dawn looked confused. "What're you talking about?"

"Oh… You didn't. Never mind, then!"

Dawn rolled her eyes and ordered an attack for her Empoleon. "Hydro Pump!"

As her Empoleon launched the powerful water attack, she looked back at Jun. "Come on, tell me. Who're you talking about?"

At that, something from above them slammed into the ground. As they jumped in surprise, the land above them began to crumble and fall…

"C-crap!" Jun quickly grabbed Dawn's hand and they and their Pokémon quickly jumped off the side. The ground from above completely covered the path they were previously on.

"…"

The two looked up at the destroyed path and then looked at each other. "…I hope Raven's okay…" Dawn mumbled.

"It's fine, it's fine! She can hold her own!" Jun exclaimed and then stared off in a certain direction.

Dawn followed his gaze to see the bug-type gym leader from Johto, Bugsy, fighting against Team Galactic. Through all the dust spraying around, she could make out an taller figure… It wasn't Red, he was still flying in the air. And Newton hadn't mentioned anything about anyone else being with Jun, Raven, and Bugsy…

The dust cleared a bit and Dawn couldn't believe what she was seeing. Tears immediately began welling up in her eyes and she covered her mouth. This couldn't be… It couldn't possibly be…

"D-dad!"

She ran off towards the man, not even noticing anything she passed. Empoleon quickly hurried after her, protecting her from Team Galactic's Pokémon's attacks…

* * *

Staraptor flew out of the way, narrowly avoiding Salamence's Hyper Beam. That said, the beam still managed to graze both its wing and Raven's hair.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

"You realize how hard it is to do that, don't you?" Piplup snapped. Regardless, he quickly began spinning around, faster and faster, until he had a large enough whirlpool. He tossed it at Butler and Salamence, crashing into the Pokémon that was trying to recover from the Hyper Beam it used.

Staraptor began to caw and Raven nodded at it. It raised its wing and swung it; a visible air current flew towards their opponents, slamming into them.

She heard something flying up behind her and spun around to see… Red and his Pikachu and Charizard. She let out a sigh of relief as the Pokémon came to a stop next to her and Staraptor.

"I'm glad you're here, Red!" she sighed and smiled slightly. "This is kinda hard…"

Red simply nodded and suddenly looked over his shoulder. Raven joined him to see a flame blowing towards them. She mistakenly tugged on Staraptor's feathers and the bird Pokémon squawked and dropped from the sky. Meanwhile, Charizard flew upwards to avoid the flames.

"Ohmygod, get a hold of yourself, sergeant!" Raven shouted.

Staraptor quickly flapped its wings to manage to keep itself airborne and then let out a sigh. It looked back at Raven with a look of exasperation.

"Sorry, sorry!" Raven laughed.

"No time to apologize!" Piplup shouted. "At 6 o' clock! 6 o' clock!"

Raven looked around to see a stream of electricity flying towards them. Unfortunately, they didn't manage to avoid this attack and the group of three were all electrocuted. Staraptor once again began to drop from the sky; this time, it didn't look like it was going to catch itself again.

"Sergeanttttt!"

"Not quite the time to be shouting that!" Piplup snapped. He clung to Raven's shirt, trying his best not to let go. "We totally forgot about Heatran and Rotom!"

"Sergeantttttttt!"

"Shut up!"

Suddenly, they landed on something, yet it wasn't ground. Looking around, she was that whatever she was on was orange…

"Charizard!"

Raven let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the orange, dragon-like Pokémon and its trainer.

"Thanks, Red. That was close…"

Raven noticed that Staraptor was unconscious and quickly returned it to its Poké Ball. She looked up at Red, who stared back at her blankly.

"What should we do?"

Red shrugged.

"Hey, I just remembered something!" Piplup exclaimed. "We don't need to be fighting Butler; we need to get to Jirachi before the hole closes!"

"Oh, crap, you're right…"

Red pointed at himself and then pointed at Butler.

"You'll deal with Butler for me? Ah, thanks!… But how do I get up there?"

Almost as if on cue, another Pokémon flew up to them… Raven recognized it as a Togekiss, but was it Dawn's or Cynthia's?

"Who do you belong to?"

"Does that really matter right now?" Piplup snapped.

Togekiss answered the question, however. "I'm Dawn's."

Togekiss flew closer to Charizard and Raven hopped onto its back. Needless to say, Piplup was clinging to Raven's shoulders.

"Thanks, Red! Good luck!"

Red nodded and turned back to look forward. "…Flamethrower."

At that, Togekiss began flying off into sky; specifically, where Jirachi was floating. The space in the sky that its was drawing energy from was quite small… About the size of a car, to compare it to something.

They felt something hot approaching them and managed to move out of the way just as a large flame nearly caught them. Heatran and Rotom were still trying to attack them.

"I'll go!"

"What?"

Piplup looked up at her. "Throw me as hard as you can! I'll attack them!"

"…Are you sure you wanna do that?"

"Of course! Come on, throw me!"

Raven sighed as Togekiss slowed down to hover in the sky. She took Piplup in her hands, raised him above her head…

And then threw the penguin Pokémon down as hard as she could. At that, Togekiss began flying yet again.

Raven felt a painful tugging in her arms… She probably pulled a muscle from doing that. However, she managed to push away the painful feeling as they got closer and closer to Jirachi…

"Jirachi!"

She desperately reached out to grab the little Pokémon and, due to the fact that they weren't quite close enough, she fell off of Togekiss. Raven still managed to grab Jirachi, though, and as they began falling, she held it close to her chest.

Togekiss quickly followed after her and caught her by the back of her shirt. It carefully floated down to the mountain until Raven was close enough to touch the ground.

Raven let out a sigh once they reached the ground and began hugging Jirachi tightly. "Jirachi, I'm so sorry…"

Togekiss began patting her back, looking rather happy.

"Tch. Looks like you've got Jirachi now, huh?"

Raven spun around to see that Charon was standing behind her. He'd left from where Heatran and Rotom were fighting Piplup… Now he stood there, and Raven noticed something different about him… Something… Was it his face…?

"…Did you get younger?"

He smirked. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Regardless, that Pokémon only has one wish left to use, you know. If I were to shout out a wish right now, that'd be the end of it. You realize that, don't you?"

"O-one wish…?"

"Yes, one wish left. Let's see… I wonder what I could wish for… Oh, the possibilities are endless!"

Raven gritted her teeth and took a step away from him, holding Jirachi even tighter in her arms. "You creep! You used the second wish, didn't you? To wish you were younger or something, am I right?"

"And what if I did?" Charon began laughing and, honestly, it was quite the annoying laugh. "Let's see… The last wish should be something like this: I wish…"

At that, Togekiss suddenly slammed into Charon, knocking the old man backwards. It looked back at Raven.

"Quick! Make a wish now!"

"R-right…" Raven looked down at Jirachi, who still seemed to be unconscious. "Jirachi, I don't know if you can hear me or not, and I'm really sorry but…"

Charon was already making his way back up to them. "Don't you dare!"

"I wish that you would undo both Charon and Butler's wishes!"

Jirachi floated away from Raven and, facing the even smaller area that showed the sky, let out a white beam of light. It flew through the hole, going outside. Several seconds later, it returned back to Jirachi and it floated to face Raven.

"Granted."


	32. Chapter Thirty One

Author's Notes: Phew, I'm exhausted just from... I dunno, reading over the chapter. I change things way too fast.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-One

Raven sort of wished she hadn't blinked, because when she did, she realized she was back at Stark Mountain.

She looked around to see everyone else in similar confusion. Noticeably, the pools of lava that had began around Stark Mountain had dried up for some reason.

Red and Butler were both still in the sky, and at the sudden change in surroundings, they looked around in confusion. Well, Red didn't look too confused, but his Pikachu was.

The sun was just now rising. It seemed extremely odd; one minute they were in the Distortion World and the next they were here. Raven noticed that she was shivering; a breeze was blowing by and, although it wasn't exactly cold, something about it made her shiver.

Suddenly, before Raven even realized it, she was tackled by someone.

"Way to go, Raven!"

It was Jun. Leave it to him to make it to where she was in record time.

"Where's Jirachi?" she immediately asked and looked around in a panic. She spotted Jirachi nearby, laying on Togekiss's back. At that, she let out a sigh.

"Way to go!" Jun repeated and continued hugging her tightly. "I know we could leave it to you!"

"Nooo, you praise me too much!" At this, Raven began rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I couldn't have done it without everyone else!"

Raven stopped abruptly and frowned. She moved her hand around her hand, grabbing hair, going lower and lower and then…

"…My hair!"

Sure enough, the right side of her hair had been burnt off, and chunks and pieces were missing. On the other side, though, it didn't look quite as bad.

"Ah, yeah, it's all burnt off and stuff…" Jun stated the obvious and then pointed at her face. "You have burns and stuff all over your face, too."

"Hahah, what're you talking about? You're not looking too good either!"

They then started to laugh, both of them, laughing and laughing until tears were in their eyes. What exactly they're laughing about, no one knows.

Yet, neither of them had noticed that both Charon and Butler had disappeared, along with Rotom. On the other hand, Heatran seemed a bit lost on what to do and began trudging back into the mountain, presumably to go to sleep.

The Team Galactic grunts also seemed confused as to why their location changed so suddenly. As such, they were shouting and running around like they didn't know to do.

"Is it over?" one of the gym leaders asked and then sighed, leaning against a tree. She then realized she was leaning on a tree and jumped back, looking around in shock. "Whoa, wait, why are we in a forest?"

Among the other things transported back to the real world was Zero's ship, which now sat among the trees and looked extremely out of place. Well, it had already looked out of place in the Distortion World, so it looked even more out of place here.

"According to my data, it appears that we've returned back to the real world," Infi reported. She sat at the top of a tree, looking around slowly. "It appears to be about 5:00 AM, June 7th."

If it was possible to hear everyone there let out sighs of relief, that's exactly what one would've heard.

* * *

Unfortunately, as the horrendously large group headed back to the Battle Frontier, they were ambushed by a bunch of reporters.

"Mr. Palmer! What exactly has been happening here?"

"Why are the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn gym leaders here?"

"What has been going on for the past couple of days here that required evacuation of the entire Battle Zone?"

"Too many questions, sorry!" Palmer laughed and pushed his way through the crowd of people.

Eventually, they made it into the Battle Frontier and, making sure the doors were locked so no crazy people would get in, everyone headed to the hotels in exhaustion. Clearly, where they went and whether or not they paid didn't seem to bother anyone.

"I'm so tired!" Raven whined and crawled into a bed. "I could just… fall… asleep…"

She stopped her sentence, completely unconscious.

"Ugh, I totally need to take a shower…" Pearl complained and glared at Raven. "Jeez, you're burnt all over! We need to put some medicine on everyone! Hey! Don't sleep while I'm talking to you! You're all dirt-covered and stuff, don't lay in the bed! HEY!"

Raven still slept through her shouting, not showing any signs that she'd even possibly heard her.

"Relax, Pearly," Jun said and got into the bed as well, laying next to Raven. "We can all do that once we wake up, right?"

"What? Ew, no, and don't call me Pearly! Hey! HEY!"

Jun had also fallen asleep, and was snoring loudly.

Seeing as how everyone else was fairly exhausted, she shook her head and turned off the lights. "Fine. Let's all just get some sleep, okay?"

"Fine with me."

"Didn't Jun and Raven already decide that a long time ago?"

"If I'm unable to wake up in the morning, just leave me sleeping."

"It's already morning, you dope."

"Awww, you're so tsundere, Silver!"

"Get off of me!"

Eventually, everyone fell fast asleep and didn't wake up for a hundred years. No, that was a joke. But when they woke up, it was exactly 12 hours later… 5 PM.

"…I feel like shit," Pearl sighed and got out of the bed. "Ugh, I feel so gross."

"Yeah, you look pretty gross too," Brendan added.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"Nothing, oh high and mighty queen."

And so, whoever was awake began lining up to take a shower. Really, though, everyone was awake except for Jun, Raven, and Lucas. They slept like logs. If logs could sleep, that is.

But it was a job well done for everyone. Although, no one seemed to care where Charon and Butler had disappeared to… And the Team Galactic grunts simply ran off pathetically.

* * *

"Just stay still for a moment, okay?"

"But I don't wanna…"

"Be quiet! If you don't cut it off, it'll look like a drunk person tried to give you a hair cut!"

"…"

Raven let out a sigh. She was sitting on a chair and Pearl was attempting to give her a hair cut; after all, Pearl said she couldn't go walking around with half of her hair gone and the other half still there.

She swore that she twitched every time she heard the scissors snip. Despite what many would think, Raven was quite proud of her creepy, gravity-defying hair. The fact that it had to be cut really killed her.

"Andddd, done! Take a look!"

Pearl handed her a mirror and she looked at her reflection unsurely. It had been cut pretty short; it only reached her chin. Not like there was anything she could do to change it but…

"I don't like it."

"Oh, well I guess you're screwed, huh?"

Raven began pouting, still looking at her reflection. It would grow back eventually, right? So she really didn't need to keep on being upset…

"Now, let's put some medicine on your cuts and stuff…"

At that, Raven jumped up and attempted to run away from her. However, Pearl seemed to be anticipating this, as she stuck out her foot and tripped her.

"…"

"You don't want to get an infection, do you?" Pearl asked and sat down on her back. "Now, just stay still, got it? Or I might _accidentally_ get some medicine in your eyes…"

Raven frowned and allowed Pearl to apply medicine to her many burns and cuts. It stung a lot, and Pearl kept on commenting about how she should be more careful.

"…Hey, Pearl?"

"Yeah?"

"…Did anyone find Butler and that Charon guy?"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then continued talking. "Well, the police managed to catch all those idiot Team Galactic grunts."

"That's not answering my question."

"Well… No one's seen Butler or Charon. They must've run off somewhere… But, Diane is still here, and she's giving us suggestions. The most likely place seems to be Team Galactic's headquarters in Veilstone City."

"Really? I'll go and-"

"No, you're not going anywhere."

"Aw, come on! Let me go, please?"

"The police said they'd deal with it themselves. And besides," she said and patted her shoulder. "Everyone, including the gym leaders, are gonna participate in the Battle Frontier facilities today!"

"Really? Don't the gym leaders need to go back to their gyms…?"

"They all agreed that they'd blow it off for a day because they all think they deserve a break."

"Ohhh, okay."

Raven jumped up from where she was and ran out of the room, leaving a surprised Pearl behind.

"H-hey! Wait a second! I said wait, you little demon!"


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

Author's Notes: ...And Jun gains a Frontier Print. Although we don't really detail the battle.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Ohhh, la sun is shining!~ What a glorious day!~"

Raven sang like a dying Swablu as she ran outside.

"Raven!" Jun shouted and tackled into her mere seconds after she left the hotel. "Come on, let's go challenge the Battle Tower!"

"Wha-? I don't wanna…"

"Come on! Don't you wanna earn the other Frontier Prints?"

"…I'd like to use one of my lifelines, please."

"Shut it! Come on, let's go, go, go!"

"Jun, wait a second!"

They both looked up at the sight of Dawn walking over to them. "Oh, it's Pikari!" they both said in unison.

"I told you to quit that," Dawn snapped and sighed. "Anyways… Raven. I'm sorry. All this time, I've been thinking that you were crazy for saying you saw my dad… But he really was there."

"Huh? You mean you saw him too?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. I did… 'Course, I didn't get to ask him how he was here and all that, and now he's disappeared again… I'm sure I'll spot him again."

"Oh… Okay…"

"Okay, now that that's over with…" Jun began and grabbed Raven's hand and yanked her towards the direction of the Battle Tower. "Let's go!"

"You're a pain in the ass…"

* * *

"All right, we'll each do single battles, 'kay? First one to finish, uh, gets a prize!"

"Fine, fine…"

"I'm going ahead first! See ya!"

He charged off towards one of the Battle Tower's attendants, talking so fast that the person didn't seem to understand a word he said.

Raven sighed and looked around. After everything that had happened, they still opened up the Battle Frontier to other people… And, as usual, there were a lot. Considering that a lot of them heard that many of the Gym Leaders were participating in the Battle Frontier facilities, they were trying to stalk them down. For some reason, it had now become more of an elusive thing… Some people debated on whether it was a lie or not, and were now relying on whether they'd be lucky enough to see "an elusive Gym Leader."

Well, none of it really mattered. She figured that she might as well take the Battle Tower challenge. If she decided to ditch it, Jun would come after her and probably push her into the ocean.

She walked up to the attendant and asked, "May I take the Battle Tower challenge?"

"Yes. Please choose three Pokémon to enter."

She quickly picked out three Poké Balls; Guru-n, Piplup, and Cherrim, in that order. "These three, please."

"Would you like to save the game?"

"…I have a feeling someone's already said that to me before…"

The woman spun around and began walking towards an elevator; Raven followed after her quickly. The elevator traveled through the building until it came to a stop, and then the woman let her down a hallway to another room.

"Please take a spot on the field and wait a moment."

Raven did as told, standing on a spot for a couple of seconds. At the other side of the room, someone else entered through the door.

It was a total nerd- I mean, it was a kid with glasses and extremely formal looking clothes. He looked like he'd taken a hour to fix his clothes to look neat like that. He probably did.

"I'm Forrest," the boy said, fixing his glasses a bit.

"Er, I'm Raven."

"Let the battle… start!" the woman shouted.

Raven tossed her Poké Ball in the air. "Go, Guru-n!"

As the Gallade came out of its Poké Ball, Forrest also sent out his own Pokémon.

"Magneton!"

A Pokémon that looked like three Magnemite stuck together came out of the Pokémon.

"Magneton, use Thunderbolt!"

"Guru-n, Close Combat!"

Guru-n dashed forwards, unleashing a flurry of punches at the Pokémon. The blow proved to be too much for Magneton, and it crashed to the ground, its eyes all having a small X in them.

Forrest returned his Pokémon with a sigh and sent out another one; it had a round body and looked like it had blue hair.

"I'll choose Mr. Mime."

"Right!" Raven quickly raised a hand to point at the opposing Pokémon. "Guru-n! Use Shadow Ball!"

As Guru-n quickly through a black glob as Mr. Mime, Forrest ordered a move for his Pokémon: "Use Light Screen."

The mime Pokémon quickly put up a wall of light in front of itself, which the black ball collided with. It still slipped through the light screen and, now smaller in size, slammed into Mr. Mime.

"Mr. Mime, use Thunderbolt."

"Use Protect!"

Mr. Mime fired off a thunderbolt at Guru-n, who quickly crossed his arms across his chest and surrounded himself with a light blue shield. The thunderbolt struck the shield and bounced off of it.

"Shadow Ball again, Guru-n!… Haha, I rhymed!"

"Set up a Reflect, Mr. Mime."

Mr. Mime set up another shield in front of the other one that was still there. The Shadow Ball flew through the first shield, got smaller as it passed through the second shield, and slammed into Mr. Mime. The Pokémon tumbled backwards, unconscious.

Forrest returned Mr. Mime and sent out his next Pokémon to battle: a shrew-like Pokémon with several spikes on its back.

"Hah! This one'll be easy!" Raven laughed and nodded towards Guru-n. "Use Leaf Blade!"

"Right!" Guru-n nodded back at her and dashed forwards, his elbows glowing green as he reached out to slash at the Pokémon. However, the shield was still there, and seemed to block some of the damage. That said, he still hit his opponent, who flinched slightly from the blow.

"Sandslash, use Slash."

Sandslash retaliated to Guru-n's attack by slashing at him with a sharp claw. Guru-n winced from the pain but quickly hurried back to stand next to Raven.

"Okay… Let's try Leaf Blade again!"

Guru-n performed the move yet again, this time managing to strike Sandslash hard enough to knock it unconscious.

"Trainer Raven has won the battle!"

Forrest returned his Pokémon to its Poké Ball, nodded slightly, and left the room. Meanwhile, the woman began talking to Raven.

"Please let us heal your Pokémon."

Raven handed the woman her Poké Balls, although Guru-n was the only one who had battled. The woman turned towards the wall, where a machine came out, with three shapes to place Poké Balls in. She did so, and the machine went back into the wall. In a couple of seconds, it opened up again and the woman handed the Poké Balls to her.

"Are you ready to face the second trainer?"

"Sure, sure!"

At that, another person walked into the room; this one a woman wearing a waitress outfit.

"My name's Luanne," she said.

"I'm Raven…?"

"Let the battle begin!" the woman announced.

Raven sent out Guru-n and the waitress let out a cow-like Pokémon.

"Guru-n, use Close Combat!"

"Miltank, use Stomp!"

Guru-n moved much faster than Miltank, letting out a series of punches and kicks at the Pokémon. Miltank retaliated by stomping on Guru-n… specifically, his leg.

"Leaf Blade!"

"Milk Drink!"

Guru-n quickly slashed out at Miltank, who still managed to keep itself standing. It reached behind its back, took out a bottle of milk, and began drinking from it.

"…"

"…Seriously? Where'd that bottle come from?"

Miltank finished drinking the bottle of milk and threw it aside, appearing to be more energized.

"Okaaay… Close Combat!"

"Miltank, use Rollout!"

Guru-n, as usual, moved faster than Miltank, striking and kicking it. The Pokémon suddenly toppled over, unconscious.

As Luanne returned her Pokémon, Raven returned Guru-n to his Poké Ball as well. She quickly sent out Piplup instead, and Luanne sent out a Pachirisu.

"Piplup, use Dig!"

"Pachirisu, use Spark!"

Pachirisu dashed forwards, surrounding itself with electricity as it tackled Piplup. Piplup quickly dug underground, popping up out underneath Pachirisu and knocking it into the air.

Pachirisu crashed to the ground, unconscious.

"Hmm…" Luanne grumbled as she returned Pachirisu to its Poké Ball. She sent out her last Pokémon, a brown, tree-like Pokémon.

"Hah! That's a grass-type, isn't it?" Raven said and pointed at it. "In that case, use Drill Peck!"

Piplup flung itself forwards, striking the Pokémon with his beak.

…And then collapsed to the ground, holding his beak in pain.

"What happened, Pippy?"

"My name's not Pippy!" Piplup snapped. "Owww, that's not a grass Pokémon, I think!"

"Oh really? So what is it, Professor Piplup?"

However, before they could finish their argument, Luanne interrupted. "Sudowoodo, use Rock Slide!"

Raven tapped her hand with her fist. "Ohhh, it's a rock Pokémon! I see, but it looks like a tree, so I thought it was grass and…"

Sudowoodo flung a bunch of rocks at Piplup, crashing onto him as he covered his head.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

Piplup nodded, quickly creating a whirlpool and throwing it at Sudowoodo. The water attack proved to be too much for it, and it collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"The winner is Trainer Raven!"

Luanne returned the Pokémon, bowed, and turned around to walk out of the room.

Yet again, Raven handed her Pokémon to the woman, who healed them. The woman then asked her the same question from before:

"Are you ready to face the third trainer?"

Raven nodded eagerly.

* * *

Raven had completed her streak of seven trainers and was walking around the Battle Tower lobby. She didn't see Jun anywhere, so he must've either been still battling or… battling some more.

She shrugged and decided to head outside. However, as she hurried towards one of the Battle Frontier stands, she ran into someone. They both collapsed, and Raven quickly began apologizing and helped the person up.

She felt like she recognized the brown haired girl, who wore a pink dress and a white cardigan.

"Oh… Aren't you, uh, Cattleya?"

The girl frowned. "No, my name is Caitlin. Get it right next time, won't you?"

"Sorry, sorry." Raven quickly turned around to continue hurrying away, only to have her arm grabbed by Caitlin.

"…?"

"Please, wait a moment," Caitlin said. She simply stared at Raven for a bit, not even blinking, until she began talking again. "I have a request of you."

"Okay?"

"Please be my friend."

Raven practically gagged on nothing at all. She looked at Caitlin like she hadn't quite heard her correctly. "I'm sorry, what did you say…?"

"I asked you to be my friend."

"Er… Well, you know, you really shouldn't just go up to someone and ask to be their friend. It's, uh, kinda weird, you know?"

"…Is it?" Caitlin tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Well, will you be my friend?"

"Oh, I thought you would've forgotten about that if I tried to change the subject. Crap." Raven sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine with me, I don't care."

The two simply stood there in silence. Until someone shouted Raven's name and promptly ran towards her and head butted her.

"Raven! Look, look, look!"

It was Jun, of course. He was holding out his Vs. Recorder to her, jumping around excitedly. "Look! Look at it!"

Raven frowned and looked at the little machine. It displayed the prints that Jun had won so far… And currently, there was one spot filled with a print of him and Palmer against a gray background.

"Oh! You won a print at the Battle Tower, huh?"

Jun frowned. "Hey, you're supposed to be happy! Don't be all 'Oh, you won a print at the Battle Tower, huh?' Show more enthusiasm, like, "Oh my god! You totally won your battle against a Frontier Brain! That's totally awesome!'"

"I'd sound like a noob if I did that."

Jun sighed and put the machine into his pocket. He then looked over at Caitlin and frowned. "Uh, who're you?"

"I'm Raven's new best friend."

Jun began punching Raven on the head. "What? How dare you replace me with someone else?"

"Stop hitting me! And who said you were my best friend, huh?"

"Well, whatever!" Jun grabbed Raven's arm and began running off somewhere with her. "Come on! We're going to the Survival Area!"

"What? I don't wanna!"

"Tough luck for you! Let's go, go, go!"

In less than a couple of seconds, Jun and Raven had completely disappeared. Caitlin sighed and began walking off towards the Battle Castle…


	34. Chapter Thirty Three VS Dahlia

Author's Notes: A Frontier Brain battle! And, yet, it involves someone that no one would probably expect...

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Now, let's race! Who can get to the Survival Area first?"

"I don't wanna…"

"On your marks, get set, GO!"

Jun began charging off towards the Survival Area. Raven simply took her time, occasionally seeing the sight of his orange and white shirt or his green scarf.

She saw a couple of trainers walking around, as well as wild Pokémon, but she didn't bother to go up to any of them.

Raven reached the Survival Area within a half hour, and saw Jun laying on the ground, exhausted.

"So, how was your run?"

"Shut… your… mouth…" Jun breathed and pointed a finger at her. "Hah… I… won…"

"That's nice," said Raven as she walked past Jun and walked into the building that was the Battleground. Jun scrambled up and followed her quickly.

Needless to say, the Battleground was dark, and the T.V. was on. Buck sat at a bench, talking to his grandfather, but other than those two, the place was empty.

"Hi, Buck!"

Buck looked up and waved at them. "Hey! It's Raven, and…. The other impatient guy!"

"You could try to remember my name, you know!" Jun grumbled but Raven quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Sorry I could help out you guys with that whole Distortion World thing and stuff. Gramps made me come with him to Veilstone City…"

Gramps snorted. "Of course! I can't have my grandson getting into danger like that, now can I?"

Buck seemed to be annoyed, but only for a moment. He turned back towards Raven and Jun, saying, "None of the gym leaders are here today. I've heard they're all at the Battle Frontier… Am I right?"

"Yep," Raven answered.

"So, do you kids want anything to eat?" Gramps asked, leaning over the counter to look at them.

"Nope!" Jun shouted and grabbed Raven's arm, yanking her out of the building. "We're going to go train!"

"I don't wanna!"

"Too bad! You agreed to come here with me!"

"I did not! You forced me!"

"Enough with your useless babbling! We have to go!"

"You don't listen to anything I say, do you?"

* * *

Out of all the facilities, Pearl liked the Battle Arcade the most. There was something about its atmosphere, something about the way it worked… She just liked it. So it went without saying that she'd been challenging it all day.

"Challenger Pearl has won the battle!"

People began clapping as Pearl finished her current match, winning, of course. As the trainer she beat walked towards the exit with an upset expression, the announcer hurried over to her.

"Miss Pearl! In recognition of your outstanding skill, our Frontier Brain is demanding a match with you! So, your next match is against the Arcade Star; no ifs or buts! Are you ready?"

"Wha? Really, the Frontier Brain?"

Pearl suddenly heard squeals and saw people gathering towards the exit, which also served as the entrance. The crowd started to part, letting a tan-skinned woman walk through.

That's right… Pearl remembered her from the entrance ceremony. Her name was Dahlia, if she recalled correctly.

"No need to worry.~ Let chance do what it does. Like surprises from the game board, life goes through twists and turns. No need to worry.~ Things will go as they will…" Dahlia sang, spinning around a bit. "…But, enough of that. I know one thing for certain. You have arrived here not merely because you were lucky. Let us not waste any time. I wish to test your skills myself!"

Pearl nodded happily. "Alright!"

"Let's start the game board, then!"

They both looked towards the wall, where a giant game board was. It lit up, and several panels were visible; a couple were red, a couple black, and some of them were simply gray.

"The challenger tells us when to stop! Start it!"

A yellow border began moving across each square, one by one, one by one…

"Stop!" Pearl shouted.

Her timing was good; she stopped the marker on a red square, which meant that Dahlia's Pokémon would be affected by something.

"This is our current event! The match will commence with Dahlia's Pokémon without full health! Okay, let the battle commence!"

Dahlia flipped her hair and said, "Always be smiling! Lucky comes to those who are happy! That's why I always keep a big smile and believe in my Pokémon when I battle."

"Okay!" Pearl nodded and reached to her side to grab her Poké Ball. Dahlia did the same, and they both let out their Pokémon at the same time…

"Go, Jolteon!"

"I choose you, Dusknoir!"

Pearl let out her first Pokémon; a small, yellow Pokémon with a spiky behind. Dahlia sent out a ghost-like Pokémon to battle.

"Dusknoir, use Fling!"

"Jolteon, use Thunderbolt!"

Jolteon let loose a thunderbolt at Dusknoir, electrocuting it as it tossed an object at Jolteon. It struck Jolteon and fell to the ground with a loud noise…

It was an iron ball.

"…Such a dangerous item…" Pearl mumbled and shook her head. "Anyways, Jolteon, use Thunderbolt again!"

"Shadow Punch!"

Jolteon let out another thunderbolt to strike Dusknoir. Dusknoir retaliated by creating a fist out of the shadows and having it punch Jolteon.

"Dusknoir's Shadow Punch works rather well here, since it's so dark," Dahlia said with a wink.

"Oh, really?" Pearl asked and snapped her fingers. "In that case, use Shadow Ball, Jolteon!"

Jolteon opened up its mouth and shot out a black blob at Dusknoir. The ball exploded on contact and Dusknoir fell unconscious.

Dahlia began clicking her tongue as she returned Dusknoir to its Poké Ball. She quickly sent out her second Pokémon, a human-like red and gray one.

"Jolteon, use Thunderbolt!"

"Let's start with Fake Out, Medicham!~"

Medicham ran up to Jolteon and quickly clapped its hands in front of its face. Jolteon instinctively flinched, and didn't make a move at all to attack.

"Oh, crap… Jolteon, try to use Shadow Ball!"

"Endure it!~"

Jolteon let out a black blob at Medicham, who was tightening its focus. It took the attack, but wasn't knocked unconscious from it.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Endure again!"

Medicham quickly began tightening its focus yet again, while Jolteon let out a thunderbolt at it. For some reason, its enduring didn't seem to work, and it fell down unconscious.

Dahlia returned her Pokémon and twirled around, tossing her final Poké Ball. A tall yellow and brown Pokémon with a green lily pad on its head emerged.

"Jolteon, Signal Beam!"

"Ludicolo, use Drain Punch!"

Jolteon fired off an odd colored beam at Ludicolo, who danced around it and skipped over to Jolteon. It quickly punched the electric Pokémon, and Jolteon collapsed to the ground.

Pearl let out a sigh as she returned Jolteon to its Poké Ball. Ludicolo was still dancing around happily.

"Go, Flareon!"

A Pokémon similar in appearance to Jolteon came out; it was a reddish orange color, with a puffy yellow orange mane.

"Flareon, use Bite!"

"Use Waterfall!"

Flareon dashed forwards and bit Ludicolo on the arm; Ludicolo retaliated by showering itself with water and charging into Flareon. Flareon was tossed backwards, yet somehow managed to land on all fours.

"Let's use Fire Fang!"

"Ludicolo, darling, use Waterfall!"

Flareon once again dashed forwards, its teeth becoming covered with flames as it Ludicolo. Ludicolo suddenly collapsed to the ground and fell over, unconscious.

"And that's it folks! Challenger Pearl has defeated Arcade Star Dahlia!"

Dahlia returned Ludicolo and began spinning around - or rather, dancing - over to Pearl. She stopped in front of the girl and held out her hand.

"You're so very, very good! My Pokémon had a good time, too! How fabulous of you! Your love of Pokémon shone through, and, in turn, your Pokémon believed in you. That is why you handled everything thrown your way splendidly. A most wonderful victory it was!"

Pearl shook her hand happily and smiled. "It was fun!"

"Now, pass me your Frontier Pass for a moment…"

As Dahlia took Pearl's Frontier Pass/Vs. Recorder, Pearl looked around before a creepy grin slid onto her face.

"Oho, I wonder what Raven and Jun will have to say about this?~"


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

Author's Notes: Random references in this chapter will be marked with a *. What they refer to will be mentioned at the end of the chapter.

Also, random visit to the Great Marsh! :D

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Four

It was nighttime now and, despite the fact that a majority of them had fallen asleep earlier, everyone was tired.

"I'm glad I don't have to keep pretending I'm a backpack!~" Jirachi said happily as it snuggled up next to Raven.

"…Her doing that to you is clearly Pokémon abuse…" Pearl grumbled. She then smiled. "Well, I guess that's a good thing, huh? Which reminds me… Everyone, guess what I accomplished today?"

"You finally counted to ten?"

"You realized that you were found in a bush when you were a baby?"

"You had to travel around the world to destroy ice cream machines with your counterparts?*"

"You could play a Nintendo DS with your toes?"

Pearl smacked herself and began shaking her head. "…You guys are all a bunch of idiots… And which one of you said that I finally counted to ten?"

No one answered, which was clearly a smart move. Pearl shrugged and continued talking.

"Aaannnyyyways… I got my first Frontier Print today!"

Jun's hand shot up into the air. "Really? ME TOO!"

Pearl made a face that looked like an upside down V. "Oh, really? Which one did you get?"

"I got the Frontier Print from the Battle Tower!"

"I got mine from the Battle Arcade."

Jun's happy expression faded away. "…Well, that's not very impressive at all!"

"What's with the sudden change in attitude?"

"Jun was hoping that maybe someone battled his daddy."

"I told you, that was a one-time slip up!"

"Sure it was."

Just then, someone began knocking on the door. Raven hopped off the bed and hurried over to open the door.

…It was a woman in a yellow and orange kimono.

"…Who're you?" Raven asked.

"My name is Erika," she said and smiled. "I just thought we should let you know that all of us are returning to our respective regions tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh… That sucks…"

"It does, but we don't want to get in trouble with the Pokémon League or anything like that." The woman smiled and bowed. "In that case, I'll be on my way now…"

Raven nodded back at the woman and closed the door. Turning around, she saw that everyone else had heard the conversation and didn't seem to really give a crap about what she said.

As Raven began walking away, someone else started knocking on the door again. And so, she turned around and opened it up. "Hello…?"

It was Darach, standing in the doorway in tears. He kept wiping his face with a handkerchief, and continued standing there, bawling his eyes out.

Raven slowly closed the door and walked back to her bed like nothing happened.

* * *

It was morning now, and everyone was running around their hotel room getting ready to do whatever they were going to do.

Someone began knocking on the door and Pearl hurried towards it. "Hello?"

Caitlin stood in the doorway, looking up at Pearl with a slight smile. "Good morning. I was wondering if Raven was here…?"

"Oh? Ah, yeah…" Pearl looked over her shoulder to spot Raven, beating the crap out of Jun with a pillow. "Hey! Raven! There's someone here for you!"

Raven quit her beating of Jun and jumped off the bed, hurrying to the door. "Oh? It's Cattleya."

"I said my name's Caitlin."

"Right. Sorry."

"Anyways…" Caitlin pushed her long hair behind her shoulders and sighed. "Will you… ah, what's the word…? Hang out, is that it? Will you hang out with me today?"

Pearl looked down at Raven with a confused look. "Did I miss the part where you and her suddenly became friends…?"

"Yeah, it was a couple of chapters ago," Raven answered and sighed. "Sure, sure, I'll go."

"I see…" Caitlin seemed to think for a moment before saying, "So, how do you people 'hang out'?"

Raven turned to look back at everyone else. "Yeah, how do you people 'hang out'?"

* * *

And so, it was decided that they would all go to Pastoria City. After Dawn offered to lead the way there, the group, plus Caitlin, all got onto the backs of their flying Pokémon and began flying off towards the city. Within an hour, they were there.

Pastoria City could be best described as a swamp. The ground was soft and muddy, and one had to be careful where they stepped or they'd literally fall into the ground.

"Ohhhh!"

Raven, Caitlin, and Lyra were all running around in excitement, looking around at the city in surprise. There was a gate building with a sign that read "The Great Marsh", which Jun quickly ran towards.

"Raven, Raven! Come on, let's go here!"

Raven hurried over to him, with Caitlin following her closely behind. "What's this?"

"It's the Great Marsh!"

"I'm not an idiot, I can read. What is it?"

"Tsk, tsk…" Jun shook his head and sighed. "Raven, for someone born in Sinnoh, you have a lacking knowledge on the places here."

"Well, sorry for having a terrible memory."

"Fine, you're excused for this one time. Anyways, the Great Marsh is, like… a place where you can catch Pokémon."

Caitlin gasped and began clasping her hands together. "Really?"

"Er, yeah. You need to get outside more often. But anyways… You pay to go in, you get 30 Safari Balls, but you don't get to use your own Pokémon to try and weaken them. Instead, you can try to lure them with bait or take them by surprise with some mud."

"…Huh, is that so…" Raven said and then raised her fist in the air. "In that case, let's go!"

Just as the two began charging off, they were stopped by Pearl, who'd been fast enough to trip them both. "Wait a second, you two."

"Ugh, what now?"

"We're all going in together. Besides, according to Dawn, the next game doesn't start until 10:30."

Jun and Raven both began pouting as they all headed inside the building. A flight of stairs led up to the second level of the building, which they naturally hurried up to.

There were a couple of tables, bookshelves, and windows that looked out over the entire marsh. Binoculars were in front of the windows as well.

"Come on, let's use the binoculars!" Jun shouted and ran towards one set of binoculars. "Oh, wait, I don't have any money…"

"It is not a problem," Caitlin said and reached into a little purse she'd been carrying around. She pulled out some money and handed it to Jun. "Here you go."

Jun gaped at the money in horror. "Oh. My. God. Do you realize how much this is?"

Caitlin tilted her head to the side. "I don't quite understand what you're talking about."

"I don't need that much! I only need 100 PokéDollars!"

"…Wait," Raven began and looked at him, "…that's what our currency is called? I thought we were using dollars."

Everyone ignored Raven's comment. Meanwhile, Caitlin was frowning as she sorted through the money, handing Jun the amount he needed. Jun shook his head, saying something about rich people, and put the money into the binoculars and looked through them.

"Whoa! Raven, Raven, look at this!"

Both he and Raven were looking through the same binoculars. Every once in a while, they'd press a button, and then start talking about how they'd go catch the Pokémon in that area.

"…May I look through it as well, please?" Caitlin asked quietly.

"Oh, sure!" Raven quickly stood back from the binoculars and pulled Caitlin over to look through them. Caitlin's mouth became an O as she looked through it in surprise.

"W-wow! Is this… how is it…? Ah, it changed! What's that Pokémon?"

Caitlin continued looking through the binoculars in awe. Meanwhile, Lucas, Gold, and Lyra were looking through another set of binoculars, Yellow was sitting quietly at the table with Silver, and Pearl, Dawn, and Brendan were talking about something.

"The next Safari Game is about to begin! Please come down to the entrance, where we will explain the rules to you!"

At that, they all got up and hurried downstairs to the entrance, where people were exiting from the marsh. They moved their way around the group before waiting at the entrance where a woman stood.

"Welcome to the Great Marsh!" the woman said. "Is this your first time here?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"I'll explain things to you then. Each of you will get 30 Safari Balls. You have half a hour to catch all you can. If you run out of Safari Balls, it's game over. Also, you aren't allowed to use your own Pokémon to battle. There are six areas. You can catch a Quick Tram to a different area every five minutes. Okay?"

Everyone nodded and the woman turned around to hand them each a brown bag. Inside the bag were a bunch of Poké Balls and several things of food.

"You can distract Pokémon by feeding them. That said, feeding them makes them harder to catch, but less likely to run away. You are also permitted to throw mud at them. However, please take note that that'll make them angry, and there is a chance that they will run away or possibly attack you. In case of the latter, we suggest you move away from them. That's it! Please enjoy your time!"

They all hurried outside to the marsh; other people were also around, and there were train tracks going off into the marsh. Several trains were moving along the tracks, stopping at several platforms and letting people off. Tall grass was everywhere, covering the marsh.

"Let's go!" Jun shouted and charged off towards one area. As soon as he stepped into the grass, he sunk down at least a foot, and looked back at everyone else sheepishly. "Oops!"

Everyone else sighed and began wandering away from each other to look for Pokémon. Caitlin followed Raven around wherever she went, but was hesitant to touch the mud.

Raven had jumped into the marsh and was moving her way through it when she noticed that Caitlin wasn't going into it.

"Hey! What's wrong?"

Caitlin frowned. "Do I have to… touch it?"

Raven looked at her carefully. Truth be told, Caitlin wasn't dressed in an outfit appropriate to go wandering around in the mud. Or to be wandering around anywhere, for that matter.

"It's fine! Just jump in!"

Caitlin still looked at the mud hesitantly, refusing to jump in.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play… Lucas!"

And suddenly, Lucas appeared behind Caitlin. He quickly pushed her into the mud, to which she started screaming.

"M-my dress…!"

"Aw, come on! It's not that bad!" Lucas said happily and jumped into the mud next to her, splashing it up in the air. "Who doesn't like mud?"

"I-I don't!"

Lucas looked at Raven, who nodded in response to his look. At that, they both began throwing balls of mud at Caitlin, who screamed like they were trying to murder her.

"Ugh… How dare you…!" she stammered and quickly ran her arm through the mud, splashing it up at Raven and covering her in it. "How's that!"

Raven and Lucas looked at each other yet again and then back at Caitlin. They quickly gave her the thumbs up sign and smiled.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"D-Darach will certainly be disappointed at me for ruining my clothes…" Caitlin mumbled.

"Oh, please! Come on, let's go catch some Pokémon!"

At that, Raven moved towards her at an amazing speed (considering that she was in the mud) and grabbed one of her hands. Lucas grabbed the other and they began dragging her through the bog…

* * *

* - Obscure reference to another story I wrote. Derp.

Also, Raven referring to Caitlin as Cattleya is... because her Japanese name is Cattleya. Yep. :|


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

"Whoa…" Jun said and whistled. "Raven, you suck at catching Pokémon. How the heck did you manage to get the ones you already have?"

"Uh, well…" Raven began slowly, tapping her chin. "I got Piplup from the professor, Cherrim from a Nurse Joy, Guru-n came with me when I asked him to, Chao was given to me by my mother, Pichu hatched from an egg, and Magnemite stalked me down until I decided to catch him, which he didn't resist at all. And I caught Snorunt with Pearl's help."

"Oh. So you do suck."

"Shut it."

Raven sighed and looked around. They were still at the marsh, and so far, Raven hadn't managed to catch one Pokémon at all. A lot of them came up to her, but when she tried to catch them, they'd run away.

She didn't feel too bad though. Caitlin was having as much trouble as she was. Although it was more because she could barely figure out a Poké Ball.

"How the heck are you even a Frontier Brain?" Jun asked.

"I… I am not the Frontier Brain. Well, Darach battles for me, but that's because I can't…" Caitlin frowned and looked away. "I'm not very good at this at all."

"Yeah. We could guess."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh!" Raven suddenly jumped off through the mud like a small child. "There's a Pokémon! Right there!"

Sure enough, there was a Pokémon nearby; it looked a bit like a purple frog with orange cheeks. Its cheeks puffed in and out, in and out… And it had no reaction as Raven ran up to it.

"Go, Mr. Safari Ball!"

She threw the ball at the Pokémon and it popped inside. It rocked around once, twice… And then burst open, and the Pokémon came back out again.

However, it remained sitting there, its cheeks puffing in and out, having no reaction whatsoever.

"…Then again! Go, Mr. Safari Ball!"

She tossed another Safari Ball at it, and yet again, it popped inside. And, yet again, it popped out of the ball.

"Guuu… Jun, what kind of Pokémon is this?"

Jun looked over at her from where he was busy laughing at Caitlin, who was now laying face down in the mud. "Oh… That's a Croagunk."

"Is that so… Huh…"

"R-raven, watch out!"

Raven turned back around to look at Croagunk… And to catch a mere glimpse of it before she was send sailing up in the air. She fell back into the mud, sinking down into it considerably before managing to push herself up.

"Ugh… That's a… s-scary Pokémon…"

Croagunk still sat where it was, its cheeks puffing in and out, in and out. If one hadn't seen Raven flying in the air a moment ago, they would have thought Croagunk hadn't moved at all.

Meanwhile, Raven was scrambling back over to Jun, hanging onto him tightly and pointing at Croagunk with a shaky, mud-covered finger.

"J-jun… that Pokémon… It's evil!"

At that, Croagunk did move, if only slightly. It turned, slowly, to stare at Raven with a blank look. Raven and Jun both screamed, grabbed Caitlin, and began running off to a different area of the marsh…

* * *

They were now taking one of the trams back to the area at the entrance of the Great Marsh. Although Raven, Jun, Caitlin, and Lucas were the only ones on the tram. It rocked back and forth, making lots of noise as it traveled down the tracks.

"…Do you all hear an odd noise?" Caitlin suddenly asked. The other three all listened quietly for whatever Caitlin was talking about…

It was a quiet, rhythmic sound… Like a frog's croaking… In fact, it almost sounding like it was saying "croa"…

"…Oh, my god…" Raven hesitantly looked around the small tram. Other than them, it was completely empty… Until she spotted it.

Sitting by one of the tram exits, a small, hunched over figure sat there. It cheeks puffed in and out, in and out…

"OH MY GOD, IT'S ON THE TRAM WITH US!"

Raven quickly ran down to the opposite side of the tram and stood up on the seat, her knees shaking.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Jun said and hurried over to the hunched over figure. "It's a Croagunk!"

"Don't let it come near me!" Raven screamed.

Jun bent down to be at eye contact with it. "Hey, you're catching a ride, too? Yeah, you are!"

Croagunk moved its head to look back at Raven. It stared, and stared, and stared… It didn't blink at all. It just stared at her.

"Make it stop looking at me!" Raven screamed and turned away from it.

"…Hey, could it be…?" Jun began slowly. "Are you the same Croagunk that beat the crap out of her earlier?"

At that, Croagunk began laughing quietly. It still looked at Raven with an unfathomable intensity.

"Raven, you should catch him. I think he wants to come with you."

Caitlin had leaned forward to stare at Croagunk as well. "It does appear that way. Raven, I believe you should catch it."

"I don't wanna! It scares me!"

Jun quickly picked up Croagunk and hurried across the tram with it. He placed it on the same seat Raven stood on, and it wrapped its arms around her legs.

"Noooo! It's touching me!"

"Catch him! Come on, do it!"

"It's scaring me! I don't wanna!"

Croagunk simply hung onto her legs, its cheeks puffing in and out, not noticing the fear Raven had of it. Or maybe it did realize it, and just hung onto her to scare her to death…

The tram soon stopped at the entrance and they all got off. Well, Raven had to be dragged off, with Croagunk still hanging onto her legs.

"…Aw, that's cute. You had a baby," Brendan simply said and pointed at it.

"Please… get it off of me…" Raven said, dramatically pulling herself across the ground.

"No, no. There's a bond between you two that even lightning couldn't separate."

"What kind of comparison is that?"

"It's a fabulous comparison is what it is!"

"Don't use the word fabulous in your sentences, that's gay."

Raven hesitantly looked back at where Croagunk hadn't let go of her. When it noticed that she was looking at it, it started laughing in that creepy way it did.

"Please… M-make it go away…"

"Just catch it then. Then you can release it later."

"…Good idea!"

Raven quickly reached into the brown bag she'd been carrying around. She took out a Safari Ball and tossed it at Croagunk. It popped inside, and unlike the other two times she tried, it stayed inside the ball.

Caitlin suddenly clasped her hands together and looked at Raven excitedly. "Oh! Are you going to do a pose now?"

"Hahah… Yes, I'll do just that!" Raven picked up the Poké Ball, spun around a couple of times, and raised it in the air. "I got a Croagunk!"

Everyone else began clapping, albeit weakly and unenthusiastically, and Raven started laughing loudly.

"Alright, please come inside and return your bags!"

They all walked back inside the building, taking off their bags and placing them in a pile near the entrance. They all walked outside the building and started talking with each other.

"What'd you catch?"

"I got a Wooper!"

"I scared all the Pokémon away!"

"That's Lyra's ability. Scare the crap out of all the Pokémon."

Pearl suddenly looked off towards Pastoria City's east exit. "Guys… is that what I think it is?"

"A Jirachi giveaway via Wi-Fi?"

"You spotted a shiny Bibarel?"

"You saw the gravestone of Ash Ketchum?"

"…No," Pearl sighed and pointed towards it. "I smell -and hear!- an ocean!"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, there's an ocean nearby. Actually, it's right near the Valor Lakefront."

"Do I hear a fancy name? What's the Valor Lakefront?"

"It's a hotel that looks out over Lake Valor, as well at the ocean. There's also a restaurant too!"

"Hey, why does that Pearl lady think the Valor Lakefront sounds fancy?"

"'Cause she's smoking Tamato berries."

Pearl narrowed her eyes at them and they quickly gave her an innocent look in return. "Anyways… let's go there, 'kay?"

Dawn nodded and the two of them took the lead, walking out of Pastoria City and off to the Valor Lakefront…


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

"It's the beach! And you know what that means, right?"

"Swimsuits!"

"Shark attacks!"

"Bodies floating up onto the shore!"

Jun paused to look back at Lyra. "…Er, no. I hope no bodies float up here."

"Oh… Okay…"

"Hey, guys! Hurry up!" Dawn shouted. She and Pearl were waiting at the entrance to the Valor Lakefront. Everyone else had gotten distracted at the sight of the ocean out before them.

Jun sighed and shook his head. "Man, you two can't even take a break… You always have to stick to the plan, don't you?"

"Yeah, 'cause we have brains, unlike you."

"Damn right!"

Dawn and Pearl both sighed at the same time before looking at each other and laughing slightly. At that, they both walked into the building, where they spotted a woman with long blonde hair talking to the receptionist.

"Oh, Cynthia!"

The woman looked up at them and then grinned at them, almost in a childish manner. "It's Dawn! And… your name's Pearl, right?"

Pearl nodded in response. Just then, something rammed into her back and she stumbled forward. Looking behind herself, she saw Jun and Raven had done so, and were now arguing with each other on who reached the place first.

"I got here first!"

"Nuh-uh, I did!"

"Prove it!"

"I don't know how!"

"Then I won!"

"Then you prove it!"

"I can't!"

It pretty much went on like that. Cynthia was looking at them in surprise, and her expression became even more surprised as the rest of them came inside the building.

"Oh! I should've guessed that all of you were together!"

Jun and Raven quit their arguing to notice Cynthia. "Oh! It's Cynthia!"

"Jeez, you guys notice things way too late," Dawn grumbled.

Cynthia looked at each of them in wonder, like she'd never seen any of them before. Even though she had. "…Say," she began and grinned, "how would you guys like to be treated to lunch?"

That got everyone's attention. "Oh! Yeah, yeah!"

"Follow me then!" Cynthia said and began walking to the other exit of the building. They all followed her excitedly as they stepped out of the building and onto the Valor Lakefront.

The lakefront was composed of several buildings, each of them located on hills and such. The path was covered in stone, and connected to each of the buildings. Cynthia led them down this path, all the way up to a building.

"This here is the Seven Stars Restaurant," Cynthia said and pointed at it.

"…Is it possible for a restaurant to even have seven stars? I thought it only went up to five."

"No, I think that's only for hotels… I think."

Regardless, they all walked inside the restaurant, where there was already lots of people sitting at tables and talking to each other. The group was greeted by a waiter, who seemed to have trouble with finding a table big enough for all of them.

"Ah, let's all just split up into groups of two, okay?"

"Roger that, captain!"

At that, everyone began breaking off into groups of two and sat down at tables. Raven sat down at a table with Cynthia, and at the table next to them sat Caitlin and Jun.

"You know…" Cynthia started as she looked through the menu. "It's proper etiquette here to battle the other customers!"

"Really?" Raven asked. She was also looking at the menu, although she really didn't have a clue about some of the items on it. Not to mention that they were pretty expensive… "…I don't know what kind of restaurant actually wants their customers to fight against each other."

"Maybe after we order, you and I can team up and battle some of them!"

"Ah… sure…" Raven mumbled and hid her face behind the menu. For whatever reason, being near Cynthia was making her nervous…

Eventually, everyone ordered what they wanted and were now waiting for their food. Cynthia stood up from her table, grabbed Raven, and pulled her over to one of the other tables.

"Hi, excuse me! Would you like to battle with us?"

The two people they approached, a man in a white tuxedo and an old man in black, looked up at them. "Oh, sure…"

"Let's get started then!" Cynthia smiled as she quickly tossed her Poké Ball in the air, letting out a large, blue dragon-like Pokémon. "I'll go with Garchomp."

Raven thought about it for a moment, and then let out the Croagunk she caught earlier. "Go, Croagunk!"

The frog Pokémon turned around to stare at Raven in the same way it had stared at her back at the Great Marsh. Raven resisted the urge to scream like a little girl.

The two men both sent out their Pokémon; a Salamence and a large, purple scorpion-like Pokémon.

"Garchomp, use Brick Break!"

"Salamence, use Hyper Beam!"

"Drapion, Poison Fang!"

"Oh, wait a sec, I don't know Croagunk's moves…"

The men and their Pokémon sighed, but Cynthia simply smiled as Raven took out her PokéDex.

"…Okay, use Poison Jab!"

And then the four Pokémon all simultaneously attacked one another; Cynthia's Garchomp swung its arm down onto Salamence's back, who fired off a powerful beam at it in return. Drapion also attacked Garchomp, its fangs literally dripping with poison as it latched onto Garchomp's arm.

…And Croagunk attacked Raven by jabbing her in the side.

"…"

Croagunk began chuckling quietly as Raven lay on the ground, clutching her side.

"…That is an evil Pokémon…" Caitlin mumbled.

On the other hand, Jun was laughing hysterically. Cynthia held out a hand for Raven and pulled her up. Cynthia's Garchomp was probably wondering if Croagunk was going to beat the crap out of it too…

"C-can I choose a different Pokémon?"

"Sure, sure, go ahead!"

Raven quickly returned Croagunk to its Poké Ball and sent out Guru-n instead. "…Okay, let's use Close Combat!"

"Garchomp, use Brick Break again!"

"Drapion, use Crunch."

The other man's Salamence wasn't moving at all, apparently resting after the Hyper Beam. Meanwhile, the other three Pokémon all attacked; Guru-n sending out a flurry of punches and kicks at Drapion, Garchomp also attacking Drapion with the same move from before, and Drapion taking a bite out of Guru-n's arm.

"Excuse me! Your meal is here!"

Cynthia looked behind herself to see a waiter standing there; sure enough, there were plates of food on their table.

"Oh, okay! Sorry, we're going to eat now!" Cynthia said to the men, who nodded in return. Both she and Raven returned their Pokémon and sat down in their seats.

"So, so! Raven, you have a Gallade, huh? That's cool!" Cynthia continued as she took a bite out of her food. "Oooh, this is so good!~"

"Ah, t-thanks…" Raven mumbled and poked at her food. "Oh! But your Garchomp is really, really cool! I've never seen one before…"

"Oh, that's right, you're from Hoenn. Is Hoenn a nice place?"

"Uh, yeah. It's a lot different from Sinnoh, you know? It doesn't get cold like it does here in the winter, although it does snow sometimes…"

And then Jun butted into their conversation. "What a borrrrinnnng conversation! Come on, talk about something else! Like, the whole Distortion World thing! I mean, it was over waaayyy too fast! Not to mention that no one ever found that Charon and Butler guys! Sure, any of the Team Galactic grunts on scene were arrested, but that's not good enough! Are those officers even trying or what?"

"Well, I'm sure they'll find them eventually!" Cynthia said happily. "But I guess you're right… Speaking of that, if the Distortion World is where Giratina is supposed to live, then why didn't we ever spot it, not even once?"

"Yeah, yeah! What, was it being a sissy and not coming out to help us? I mean, we really could've used its help!"

Raven started tapping her chin and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right… But instead, Palmer made me go out and get all the gym leaders! I mean, they weren't a great help… We didn't really need their help… right?"

"Oh, about that…" Jun said slowly. "Daddy- I mean, Dad said that he really only had you do that 'cause he wanted to meet the gym leaders…"

"Oh, really? I'm gonna kill him when I find him."

Just then, Raven felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see one of the men she and Cynthia were just battling; he was the younger of the two, the one with the Salamence.

"Yeah…?"

"Sorry that we couldn't finish our battle," he said and laughed. "Though I'm sure you would've beat me again!"

"…Again? Have I battled you before?"

The man suddenly looked horrified as he started laughing and walking away. "No, you haven't! That was a slip-up, was all! Sorry!"

Raven shrugged and looked back at Cynthia. "…Have I ever seen that guy before? Or have you?"

Cynthia shook her head. "Never seen him before. He probably just mistook you for someone else."

"…Right…"


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

Author's Notes: Random backstory for Caitlin and Darach is random. :|

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The entire time that Caitlin was gone, Darach was a nervous wreck. He looked like he was about to faint at any second, and anytime someone mentioned a word that sounded similar to "Caitlin", he spin around and look around for her.

Needless to say, when Caitlin finally returned, he was practically in tears.

"M-my lady! I've been so worried about you!"

He was sobbing while hugging her tightly. Caitlin looked a bit annoyed as she said, "Darach, please don't wipe your nose on me."

"I would never do such a thing!" Darach gasped. At that, he looked at Caitlin and noticed the mud on her dress. "Lady Caitlin! What happened to your clothes?"

"We went to the Great Marsh!" Caitlin said happily and looked over at the doorway of the Battle Castle, where Raven and Jun stood, watching them. "It was fun!"

"T-the Great Marsh?" Darach stammered and then frowned. "…You went there? Wild Pokémon are there, they could've attacked you!"

"They did not. Besides, I was with Raven and her friends!"

Darach glanced at Raven and Jun. "…Is that so…? Well, how about you go get cleaned up, all right?"

Caitlin nodded before walking off somewhere. Once she was out of sight, Darach fixed his suit and walked over to Jun and Raven.

"It appears that Lady Caitlin is unharmed… That's very good."

"Um, yeah… No offense, but you're kind of clingy to her, aren't you?"

"Clingy? Me? I most certainly am not!"

"Er, yeah, you are, actually."

"Well, maybe I am a bit clingy, but I'm just ensuring Lady Caitlin's protection and wellbeing! There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"No, no… I mean, crying over her finally coming back and then denying that you're clingy to her is no problem at all."

Darach frowned at them before quickly bowing and walking away. "Well, I'll be off to help Lady Caitlin. Thank you for not harming her."

Jun snickered and looked at Raven. "What, does he think we're serial killers or something?"

"He must. He's waaayyy too obsessed with her."

"…Yeah. I wonder why…"

At that, both of them looked at each other, eyes wide, and said together, "That's it!"

"Wait, are we thinking the same thing?"

"If you mean us being super detectives, then yes!"

"All right! Master Detectives Jun and Raven's newest assignment… The Battle Castle Mystery!"

* * *

Now, knowing these two, they were quite easily distracted from their "detective work", and stopped several times to buy things from the Exchange Service stands and such. Eventually, though, they ran into Thorton, who was looking at them suspiciously.

"What are you two doing?"

"Detective work!" Jun answered proudly. He held a colored card in his hand and was using a coin to scratch off three silver panels. "Oh, crap, they don't match!"

"…Yes, that's very detective-like," Thorton grumbled and shook his head. "Why are you doing… detective work?"

"We wanted to find out some stuff about Darach," Raven said, also scratching off three panels on a card. "Hey, you're a Frontier Brain, so you'd know something about him, right?"

Thorton seemed to think for a bit before shaking his head. "Actually, I don't know much about him either. Although I'm interested now. I'll help you guys gather data on him."

"Ah, crap, you had to invite Mr. Nerd, didn't you?" Jun muttered quietly.

"Whatever, he's gonna help us! Stop complaining."

And so, Thorton led them to the Battle Factory, where he led them to a place that was off-limits to non-staff members, and they began using the computers there to search for things.

"Searching the Battle Frontier records only shows his first name, his birthday, and his age. Actually, it also mentions that he was hired by Caitlin's parents to take care of her. But other than that, that's it for the Battle Frontier records…" Thorton said, pointing at the screen. "…Maybe we should ask Argenta or Dahlia. I doubt Palmer would know anything about him."

The other two, who were no help whatsoever with computers, simply nodded. And so, they left the Battle Factory and headed towards the Battle Hall, where they managed to find Argenta easily and ask her about Darach.

"…Information about Darach, huh?" Argenta mumbled and began tapping her arm. "Well, he's really intent on protecting Caitlin. Other than that he says it's his job, I don't really know… Well, he's very focused, and he gets things done."

"…That doesn't really help," Thorton sighed. "Do you think Dahlia would know anything?"

"She might, but I doubt it. Let me come along too, I'm interested."

And so, Thorton, Jun, Raven, and Argenta left the Battle Hall and headed off across the Battle Frontier towards the Battle Arcade.

"I don't know anything!~" Dahlia sang, dancing around as she talked to them. "Oh, but he's a good cook! Everything he makes tastes good!"

"So, you mean you eat everything that he makes for Caitlin?" Thorton asked.

"What? That's so mean!… But, yes, yes I do."

Thorton looked back at Raven and Jun. "Well, this isn't working very well… And you two aren't even helping, and it was your idea."

"Sorry, sorry!" Jun pouted. "But, hey, we should go ask my dad now, right?"

"I doubt he'd know anything."

"He has the attention span of a Magikarp, what makes you think he'd know -or remember- anything about Darach?"

"He might know something!~ It's worth a try!~"

And so, the now 5 person group headed towards the Battle Tower to find Palmer.

And, much to their surprise, Palmer actually knew something about Darach. And, even more surprisingly, he was actually being serious about the topic and not getting distracted.

"Well, Darach was friends… Well, not friends, but he became acquainted with Caitlin's parents. Actually, he used to be homeless, and they offered him a job… I think it was to be a butler at their home or something.

"Then, Caitlin's parents assisted with the production of Hoenn's Battle Frontier, along with Mr. Scott. Well, then they donated money for the creation of another one in Sinnoh, which is now here today…

"But, well, Caitlin's parents started to get into a nasty divorce, and Caitlin's mother gave Darach permission to go to Sinnoh and told him to become the Frontier Brain of one of the facilities using the Pokémon they'd given Caitlin.

"And then, on the day that Darach and Caitlin were getting ready to leave, Caitlin's parents both got into a car accident and died."

The other five were all silent as they listened to Palmer. When he finally came to the conclusion of Caitlin's parents dying, they couldn't do anything but just stare at Palmer.

"…That's…" Argenta began and then shook her head, placing her sunglasses onto her face. "…Terrible…"

Palmer nodded solemnly. "Well, that's how Darach and Caitlin came here. Darach's been taking care of her ever since."

"I guess we can't really blame him for being so clingy to Caitlin…" Raven mumbled and Jun nodded in agreement. Even he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well, that's it!" Palmer said and stood up quickly. "I'll be off now! I've got challengers to take on!"

And then Palmer rushed out of the room, almost like they hadn't had the conversation at all.

* * *

Outside, a fog had gathered and blanketed itself over the entire Battle Frontier. As the group exited the Battle Tower, though, they barely paid any attention to the weather.

"…I'll be off to the Battle Hall, then," Argenta said and began walking off towards the building she ran.

"Me too," Dahlia said and also hurried off; she didn't even bother to dance her way there.

And that left the other three to simply sit in front of the Battle Tower. Neither of them said anything, just simply sat there and watched people walk around.

When Raven spotted sight of Caitlin hurrying over to them, she couldn't help but look away. However, she decided that that wouldn't be the best idea, and simply shook her head and got up.

"I'm back!~" Caitlin sang out and started laughing. "I thought I'd try singing it out, like Dahlia does sometimes."

"Ah… right…"

Caitlin frowned and looked at the three of them carefully. "…Are you hiding something…?"

"No, no way! Hahah, what'd make you think that?"

Caitlin seemed to consider this for a bit before she simply shook her head. At that, she grabbed onto Raven's hand and swung it back and forth.

"Let's go get ice cream!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, okay!"

The two of them both hurried off in the direction of one of the hotels on a quest to get ice cream. Thorton and Jun watched them run off and both sighed in unison.

* * *

And so, the two of them sat inside one of the hotels' diners, looking out a window as they ate some ice cream. Caitlin looked extremely happy as she ate it quickly, and Raven was amazed that she wasn't getting brain freeze from it.

"You know…" Caitlin began, looking out the window. "This reminds me… of when my parents used to bring me out to the city…

"We'd go to a lot of stores, and I remember there was this one store… it was a candy store, actually. It was meant to look old-fashioned, and I thought that it was the greatest thing ever.

"But then, Mama and Papa said that some work had come up, and we had to leave. I wasn't able to buy anything from the store, and I couldn't find it either…"

Raven sat there in silence, chewing on the straw she had in her ice cream. Sometimes, she found that it was better to keep her big mouth shut than to say what she thought.

"…But it's okay, though. That was the first, and last, time that they ever brought me somewhere. They were always too concerned with their jobs to play with me. But… that one time, the one time they brought me outside to spend a day with me…"

Caitlin blinked a couple of times and started rubbing her eyes. "Ahah… I must be boring you with all of this, aren't I? No one wants to listen to a spoiled, rich girl talk about her parents…"

Raven shook her head and quietly said, "It's not boring at all… If you need to talk, go ahead and talk to me. I'm here to listen."

A look of surprise crossed Caitlin's face, but only for a moment. The expression softened and she turned to look out the window yet again.

"…When Mama and Papa introduced me to Darach, I didn't know what to think. I mean, we always had servants at our home, but he was the first one that was… How would I put it, the first one who'd listen only to me?

"But Darach, he brought me outside all the time, he played with me, he read books to me… He did everything my parents never did.

"So when Mama said that the two of us were to go alone to the Sinnoh region, I didn't really care. In fact, I didn't even view her as my mother anymore. I don't remember the last time she ever personally spoke to me. She, and my father, always relayed messages to me via the servants, or by letters. They actually sent letters to their own daughter, who lived in the same house as they. Isn't that sad?

"And… this might sound terrible, and horrible, and… You might think of me as a horrible person for this, but…

"When they got into a car accident and died… I didn't feel any sadness. I… actually felt relieved."

Caitlin looked back at Raven, her eyes wide. "I… must be some kind of monster or something, to be relieved that my parents were… were dead…"

Raven didn't say anything, but continued eating her already finished ice cream in silence.

"Helllloooo!~"

…And then someone interrupted their serious conversation. Raven almost recognized the woman who was suddenly standing at their table, clad in a yellow kimono-like attire. But then, just as she felt like she recognized her, her mind went blank and she couldn't remember the woman at all.

"Having a serious discussion, are we?" she asked and began patting Caitlin's head. "But your story was sooo sad! I can't believe all of that happened to you! If I were to compare your situation to any of the Gym Leaders, I'd say you could most relate to… uh, what was that leader's name again?

"Oh, but you! I remember I told you last night… or was it the night before? I don't remember when, but I do remember what I said! It was something along the lines of… uh, what was it…?

"Oh, that's right! I told you that us Gym Leaders were leaving today! But, you know what? They cancelled the return back because of this fog! I mean, not that I mind or anything, 'cause I kind of like it here, but I mean, seriously! All because of some fog? Ahahaha, I'm ranting, aren't I? Oops!"

Both Raven and Caitlin stared at the lady like she was out of her mind. Not to mention they probably lost track of what she was saying somewhere along the 'night before' line.

"Um… who are you?"

"Oh, that's right, I never introduced myself! My name's Erika, I'm a Gym Leader from the Kanto region! I just love grass-type Pokémon! They're so beautiful, and gentle, and kind, and… Oh, I'm ranting again, aren't I? Oops!"

"…Erika…" Raven said and simply looked at her with a blank face.

"Yes?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say your name. Erika."

"What's your name? Uh, I think I remember hearing it from other people… It was something like Robin, or Jay or something, right?"

Raven sighed and shook her head. "No, it's Raven. My name's Raven."

"Oh, right, right! How the heck did I get Robin or Jay out of that name? Oops!"

"Um… anyways…" Caitlin started slowly, turning her attention back to Raven. "I suppose we could finish this conversation later, perhaps? I should be returning back to the Battle Castle… I might've been holding up some of the battles, since Darach won't battle without me in his presence…"

At that, Caitlin got up, bowed slightly, and walked away; her snotty act up again as she walked out of the building.

"Aw, I hope Caitlin's not gonna keep acting like she usually does…"

"You know, I think she might be doing that because I suddenly butted in…" Erika mumbled. "I'm sorry…"

Raven shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. The conversation was getting way too serious for me. I'm not good at dealing with situations like that…"

And while this scene went on, the fog surrounding the island grew thicker and thicker…


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

For some odd reason, at night, everyone began having a celebration much like the one for the Millennium Comet. Sure enough, the comet was still visible in the sky, despite the fog. But really, no one had a decent reason for having a party, and they were probably just doing it because they could.

And, well, what a better time to go exploring than in the middle of the night?

Jun proposed the idea that they should go searching for Pokémon at night; he claimed that some only came out at that time. He seemed to have some kind of idea that he'd find a rare Pokémon that he could catch and then become famous.

As for everyone else's answers…

"Oh, hell no."

"I'm busy. Doing what? Oh, I'm busy trying to ignore you."

"I'm not speaking unless I'm in the presence of my lawyer!"

"I'll go!"

…The last answer came from Gold and Raven. Together with Jun, they were the Idiot Trio.

And so, the three of them headed north of the Battle Frontier to go search for Pokémon. Armed with flashlights and bags of chips, they were prepared for anything as they split up to go search by themselves.

Well, they were prepared for _almost _anything.

So when Raven tripped over something in the thicket of trees, she was prepared to beat it with her flashlight and bag of chips. So fearsome.

"…Wait a second…"

She shone her light over the thing, seeing that it was a person. However, blood stained the person's body. Naturally, she wanted to scream. But she was too manly for that, so she didn't. Instead, she continued shining the light over the person, until she saw their head; rather, the back of it, but their hair was purple, and rather messy.

"…Hey, are you, um, okay?"

Raven grabbed the person's shoulder and shook them a bit. Clearly, she didn't know what you shouldn't do when you find an injured, bleeding person in the middle of a forest.

The person moved slightly, grunting and looking over at her. "…"

"Hey, wait a second, I recognize you! You're one of those Team Galaxy people!"

"It's… ugh, it's Team Galactic! Get it right!"

"…Right, sorry. But hey, what're you doing here? Why are you all, uh, bloody?"

The person, who was a woman, pushed herself up, holding onto her side. "Clearly, my outfit must've given it away, but you don't seem to remember exactly who I am, do you?"

Raven seemed to think for a moment. "…You're right, your appearance doesn't ring a bell."

"I'm one of Team Galactic's admins. But, back at Stark Mountain, I helped you guys out. Remember, Mars and I? We were there, but we held back the rest of the grunts and you went ahead to go stop Charon?"

"…I can't say that it doesn't not ring a bell."

"That made no sense whatsoever. But, anyways… after that, Mars and I were both wanted for being traitors. Unfortunately, they managed to catch us pretty quickly…"

"Wait a sec… do you mean that they did this to you?"

The woman smirked. "You catch on pretty quickly."

Raven didn't even seem to think for a moment as she quickly put an arm around the woman and tried to pull her up. She didn't seem to fare very well, not even getting the woman up.

The woman sighed and stood up, much to Raven's surprise. "What are you doing?" the woman asked and shook her head.

"Uh, I'm taking you to the Battle Frontier!"

"What? They won't want me there! They won't even help me!"

"Sure they will! I'll beg and plead and start crying until they do!"

The woman sighed, walking along with Raven as she led her back to the Battle Frontier. All thoughts of Raven catching night-dwelling Pokémon had disappeared, and wouldn't be coming back until some time later.

* * *

When she reached the entrance of the Battle Frontier, she was exhausted. If the woman hadn't helped with walking along, she surely would've not made it there.

"Urgh…"

Raven glanced over at the woman, who looked even more exhausted than she did. In fact, her face looked creepily pale.

…And then she remember that the woman was injured, and maybe she shouldn't have let her walk along.

The woman suddenly collapsed, pulling Raven down to the ground with her. Raven quickly looked at the woman and saw that she had fainted.

"…Crap. Um, just stay there, okay?" she said. Although the woman clearly didn't hear her. But anyways, Raven ran into the entrance building, seeing that no one was sitting at the counters. Darn.

She hurried into the Frontier area, looking around at everyone. Well, none of them looked like licensed doctors. The closest person to a doctor that she could think of was…

She ran towards the Battle Castle, running through the entrance and slamming into the person she was looking for.

"Hi, Mr. Darach, sir! I need your help!"

Darach frowned at her. "…What?"

"I need your help! It's a emergency!"

"If it doesn't involve Lady Caitlin, it's not any of my business."

"…"

Raven frowned and bit her lip. Okay, plan number 2...

She covered her face, pressing on her eyes. She sniffed. "B-but…"

Darach looked at her with a confused look. "Hm?"

"I… I really n-need your help! Please!"

She looked up at her, tears in her eyes. "Please help!"

Could this be…? The skill of crocodile tears?

"…Fine," he sighed.

"Thank you!" Raven said happily, all traces of tears or sadness disappearing in a flash. She grabbed his arm and dragged him off to the entrance of the Battle Frontier…

* * *

"…What am I supposed to do about this?"

Raven tilted her head to the side. "I thought you could help me…"

"I'm a butler, not a doctor!"

"I thought you'd be able to help… 'Cause you're one hell of a butler."

Darach smacked his forehead and shook his head. Unbelievable. "Well, I'll pick her up and bring her inside. Okay?"

"Roger that, captain!"

Darach sighed yet again as he picked up the unconscious, injured woman. He carefully walked through the entrance and hurried off to the Battle Frontier infirmary, which Raven had never known had existed.

* * *

Jun grinned like a child as he ran through the forest, looking for any Pokémon he could find. Unfortunately, he couldn't find many Pokémon. Apparently, most of them must been asleep.

"…Heheh, I have a great idea!"

Jun smirked as he hurried off towards the island's beach. He was going to go fishing for some water Pokémon, and he'd catch one, and then tell Lucas and Raven that he found it wandering around the forest! Those two were idiots, and they'd believe it too!

Unfortunately, he didn't have a fishing rod with him. But he had his Floatzel, and he could surf on its back until they found one.

Oh, he was so smart.

As he ran up to the ocean and let out Floatzel, he looked out at it. Fog covered the water, so thick he could barely see beyond it. Well, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

He jumped onto Floatzel's back, and it swam out into the ocean. It swam, and swam, and swam.

And then, he spotted something.

…But it wasn't a water Pokémon, at least not one he'd heard of. Maybe it was an undiscovered Pokémon? A new one, he could report it and be famous for the discovery of a new Pokémon species!

But, as he saw it fly across the water, the childish grin on his face faded away. He'd spotted it from far away due to its glowing red eyes, but now that it was closer, he saw it was long, and had several yellow arms.

He recognized the Pokémon now, but why was it here, of all places? As it looked at Jun, it blinked its red eyes, and flew closer to him. Floatzel had stopped swimming, and also looked up at the Pokémon with a frightened expression.

"G-giratina…"

And now, Jun wished that he would've stuck to looking around the forest.


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine

Author's Notes: Random trouble is random.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The Team Galactic woman had her injuries treated by a nurse there, and now lay on a hospital bed, still unconscious.

"Did you say you found her like this?" the nurse asked, glancing at Raven with a concerned face.

"Yeah. She was just laying there, and I tripped over her."

"Hm…"

Darach stood in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at both the injured woman and Raven. This was such a bother, he should really be standing by Lady Caitlin's side, listening to her every word…

"Hey, Darach, sorry bout this."

He glared at Raven and mumbled, "What?"

She had a hand raised, almost as if she was half-waving at him. "I said sorry. Didn't mean to make you carry her all the way here."

"Well, I couldn't just let an injured person lay there! Ahah…"

"But I guess I learnt today that you're a sucker for crocodile tears."

"Oh, shut your mouth."

Raven shrugged and looked at the woman. "But she said something about being wanted for being a traitor to Team Galactic. She said that they were the ones who did this to her…"

The nurse grimaced as she answered, "Well, regardless, we'll have her stay here under our protection." She then looked up at Raven and Darach. "You two can leave now. If anything happens, I'll let you know."

"You don't need to let me know, I don't really care," Darach grumbled.

"Okay! Thanks, Ms. Nurse Lady!"

Raven skipped out of the room, and Darach reluctantly followed her. This was so troublesome…

* * *

Jun hadn't come back to the Battle Frontier yet. Gold had come back, though, but he hadn't caught any Pokémon at all.

"Jun's probably just trying to catch everything he can so he can be a show-off," Dawn sighed, shaking her head. "We should just go to bed. Just leave the door unlocked so he can get in when he comes back."

Everyone shrugged, which apparently meant that they agreed. And so, they all went to bed that night, leaving their hotel room door unlocked so Jun could come in when he wanted…

But he never came back during the night, and everyone had remained fast asleep, and no one had noticed until it was morning.

Surprisingly, Lucas was the first one to wake up. After he got out of bed, slowly, he went to the bathroom, but only to find that the light wouldn't turn on. The toilet wouldn't flush either. Oops.

Lucas frowned and turned on the sink. But it didn't turn on. How was he supposed to wash his hands?

And so, he walked back to the beds and shook Pearl until she woke up.

"What do you want?"

"…The water and electricity isn't working."

Pearl sighed and got out of bed, putting on a pair of shoes and walking towards the hotel door. The door was still unlocked, which she frowned about, but said nothing as she walked out of the room. Lucas was following her obediently, like a duck following its mother, as they walked down the hallway.

The Battle Frontier was in chaos.

Outside, people ran around, completely lost on what to do, and down in the hotel lobby, Pearl and Lucas spotted Thorton, who was talking aloud to himself.

"Thorton, what's going on?"

Thorton looked up at them. "It… it doesn't…"

"Doesn't…?"

"It doesn't add up! The data doesn't add up! My data is useless! I'm useless! I can't figure anything out!"

And Thorton went into hysterics, and Pearl attempted to calm him down. Lucas looked around with a blank look on his face.

Things in the hotel were a mess. For some reason, tables were overturned, fake plants lay on the ground, and he spotted Palmer's shoe laying in front of the doors. But only one shoe.

"The data doesn't add up! I can't figure anything out! What is pi? I can't remember it!"

"Just calm down, will you? What's this about pi? What's going on?"

"Pi is approximately 3.14159."

"Red, shut the hell up."

Lucas looked around to see one of the Gym Leaders from Kanto, Green. And then the other guy, Red, who apparently knew what pi was.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked. Since those two were the only ones who'd give him an answer. Probably.

"Ah… something weird is happening," Green said and shrugged. "No one can leave the island. Well, you _can_ leave it, but within a couple of seconds, you end up on the other side of the island."

"Ehhhh."

Green looked at him oddly. "…Well… That's what's happening."

"Ehhhhhhh."

"…Your reaction is too little."

"Oh."

Green sighed and shook his head. Lucas turned around and slowly walked up the stairs, heading back to the hotel room.

He found that everyone else had woken up and were talking with each other.

"Why isn't the T.V. turning on?"

"Oh, gross, who didn't flush the toilet?"

Raven frowned, sitting on the bed with Jirachi in her lap. She looked at Lucas as he walked in the room, still frowning. "Hey, Lucas, was Jun with you?"

"Huh? No…"

"So where's Jun? He's not here."

And then, everyone just noticed that Jun wasn't in the room.

"Jun's not here? No wonder I slept peacefully through the night."

"Maybe Jun left to go explore some more?"

"Did he even come back last night?"

"If Jirachi could still make more wishes, maybe we could find him! Just kidding!~"

"What're you talking about, I can still make wishes!"

Everyone looked down at Jirachi with various expressions. "…What?"

"Jirachi, I thought you could only make three wishes!"

"No, no, no, no," Jirachi said and shook its head. "I don't know who told you that crap. It ain't true."

"Ohhhh… Crap."

"Yeah. Crap."

"Wait a second…" Raven started and shook her head. "I thought… I mean, that Charon guy told me… that you had one final wish! And I got to make a wish before he did!"

"Whaaat? You're gullible!"

"I can't believe it! That old man lied to me! Just when I thought I saved the world! I wanted to be a heroooo!"

"I want a hero sandwich…"

"What'd you wish anyways?"

"You don't even remember what people make wishes on you about! We're so screwed!"

"Tell me what you wished! I'm interested!~"

"I wished that the other wishes that were wished were unwished!"

"What the fu-… f… food?"

"So clever, trying to change the words like that."

Jirachi was shaking its head, saying, "That's impossible, silly rabbit! You can't wish to undo a wish!"

"Well it worked, didn't it?"

"Did it? Is that so…? Well, it won't work for long! Ahahah!"

"Okay, let's throw Jirachi out the window."

"I agree!"

"What! Don't do that! Please!"

* * *

"What? My son is missing?"

Palmer shouted that statement out loudly, and then began tapping his chin.

"…Well, he'll come back eventually. No need to worry." And then Palmer spun around and began walking towards the Battle Tower. "Come on, people! Sure, we may have been cut off with the rest of the world, but that doesn't mean we can't battle!"

"Yeah! If his father isn't worried, then we don't need to worry!" Raven said happily, pumping her fists in the air. "…But, wait, Palmer! The electricity doesn't work."

"What're you talking about?" Palmer asked. And then promptly ran into the Battle Tower's automatic doors, which had failed to open. In a second, though, they opened up and he walked through like he hadn't just run into it. "The electricity works fine! There're backup generators and all that good stuff!"

"Oh. Okay."

Raven was unaware of the glares that both she and Palmer were getting from other various people. However, with timely entering, a nurse hurried over to them.

"Miss Raven! That woman from last night… She's finally waking up!"

"Ohhh! Really!" Raven asked and hurried over to the nurse. "Lead me there, nurse lady!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Pearl started and grabbed her by her shoulder. "What's this about a lady in the infirmary?"

"Oh, yeah. I found a Team Galactic woman in the forest yesterday and so I bullied Darach into carrying her into the infirmary. She was injured. But, yeah, she's waking up!"

"Wait a second!"

However, Raven and the nurse were long gone, heading off to the infirmary that was never mentioned until a chapter or so ago.

* * *

"Hi, Team Galactic lady whose name I don't know!"

The woman looked up at the sight of Raven running into the room happily. "…Oh. I was hoping that I dreamed all of that last night, but I guess I didn't."

"Ehhh. You aren't happy?"

"Well, if you quieted down I bit, I might consider it."

"Ohhh. Okay."

Raven pulled over a chair to the stretcher the woman was sitting in, and plopped down in it. "Okay… Go on, tell me! How'd you get out there anyways?"

"…Oh! I have something extremely important to tell you! Listen, and… hey, focus! FOCUS."

"Uh… right! Right!"

"That woman, Diane? Remember her?"

"Yeah! Yeah! She helped us out!"

"No, no, no! You can't trust her!"

"I can't?"

She shook her head. "No. You see, I was still stuck with Team Galactic when everything started getting sucked into the Distortion World. But, it was apart of their plan to have Diane go to you guys and help you out!"

Raven gasped and said, dramatically, "No!"

"Yes! They had her go to you guys and tell you all about the things we… they were doing!"

"But why would she do that? That makes no sense!"

"I don't really know the exact reason… It was what I gathered from listening in on them."

"Listening in? But if you're an admin, why did you have to do that?"

The woman sighed. "I already told you that, didn't I? After Mars and I turned against them to help you, they captured us! They were holding us prisoner!"

"Egad!… Which reminds me, what's your name?"

"Jupiter. Anyways…" Suddenly, Jupiter looked around in a hurry, and then grabbed Raven by her shoulders. "Hey! Is the island…? Can you still go outside the island?"

"No…"

"Oh, crap! This is terrible!"

"What is?"

"The island… this is the Distortion World!"

"Whaaattt?"

Clearly, such a revelation didn't quite crack through Raven's head. That's the problem with children like her. Big revelations don't make much an impact until much later.


	41. Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

"…I see. This is… the Distortion World," Thorton said. He then nodded, as if all of this made sense now.

"Wait, doesn't that mean that everything we've done was for no good reason?"

"But we've been going to outside areas afterwards, so how is that possible?"

"Isn't it obvious? It was a temporary spatial displacement."

"…That made no sense."

"Remember, Thorton, you have to use words that these people will understand. Small words, remember, not big words."

Thorton sighed. "Fine. To put it simply… The island was returned to the real world for a while, but then pulled back into the Distortion World."

"So why didn't you just say that?"

"I don't even think that that's what temporary spatial displacement means."

"Be quiet."

"…"

"Anyways," Thorton coughed into his hand and continued talking. "We still have a problem. We don't know if that blackness is expanding yet again, or if anyone who goes to the island will enter it."

"Not to mention that Jun is still missing."

"Right. Jun is missing as well. Although he probably just wandered off." Thorton shook his head a couple of times. "But what we currently need to do now is try to gain contact with other areas within Sinnoh. We also need to make sure that no Team Galactic people are around. So, we'll break up into groups, got it? We need the smart people to help with getting into contact with the outside area, and the dumb people can go search the island. Understand?"

"YEEAAAHHHH!"

"…The fact that no one seems to deny the fact that they're dumb really surprises me."

* * *

And so, with Palmer being the leader of "Squad Idiots", they began to explore the island for suspicious people. Going from the Fight Area and then to the Survival Area and onwards.

…Their chatter was loud enough that if there were any Team Galactic grunts around, they'd be smart enough to hurry away from them. They weren't a very quiet group at all.

"And, so, so, so!" Lucas began happily. "I'm doing really well at the Battle Hall! I tried out the Battle Arcade, but my luck there is really bad, you know?"

"I've just been battling endlessly at the Battle Tower!" Gold said. "I think I have, like, a streak of 500!"

"Yeah, right." Silver rolled his eyes. Now, he didn't go with the group because he was stupid, but simply because he wanted to. That, and the group of stupid people didn't have a single person with common sense. They'd all get distracted so easily that it wouldn't even be funny. Luckily, Green and Red also tagged along with him. Although Red seemed to be as easily distracted as them.

"…Hey," Gold started and looked at Raven, who seemed to be think about something. "What's up with you?"

"It's nothing. I'm just… you know, worried about Jun. I wonder where he is?"

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. They looked at Raven with a blank look. And then a majority of them screamed and ran away from her.

"The world's going to end! She's actually worried about someone!"

Raven frowned. "What's that even supposed to mean? I'm not that evil."

Silver put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. "These people aren't going to listen to a word you say."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

…Where was he?

This wasn't anywhere that he recognized. It was black, and endless. There wasn't a sound to be heard.

Jun was alone, somewhere. He didn't know where.

"Heyyy! Is anyone here?"

…He only heard his own voice, and it seemed so loud that he felt like he just screamed in his own ear. Wait, was that even possible?

He remembered something. He'd seen Giratina. He remembered seeing it while he was out in the ocean.

…That's right! He should still have his Pokémon!

He reached to his side for his Poké Balls.

…But they were gone.

…So he was really all alone here. He was going to die a slow, painful death from boredom. And not being able to talk to anyone.

Man, this sucks.

* * *

They'd already gone past the Survival Area. Everything still looked normal. In fact, the fog from the previous night had disappeared. Had they not known any better, they'd would've thought everything was normal.

"My bologna has a first name! It's… Okay, I don't know anything else from that song. Let's sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall!"

"Okay! 99 bottles of beer on the wall! 99 bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of beer on the wall!"

…Well, I'm sure you get the picture. Everyone except for the common sense people were joining in on the song.

"…These idiots are getting on my nerves," Green grumbled.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Silver grumbled back.

Raven stopped singing along to say, "I wonder where Jun is."

…And the same scene from earlier with everyone screaming and running away happened. Raven once again began pouting as they all acted like it was the end of the world.

"But, you know, I could probably tell you where he is."

"Oh, really?" Raven asked and looked around… Wait, who had just talked…?

Someone could be heard walking towards them, and everyone stopped their acts of insanity to look towards the person. When the person emerged, it was safe to say that they were all pretty surprised.

"Butler!"

Yes, sure enough, it was the magician that they'd dealt with earlier. But, what was he doing here…?

"What'd you do with Jun?" Raven snapped.

"What, me? _I_ didn't do anything."

"You just said that you know where he is!"

"Yes, I said that, but I didn't say that I was the one who took him."

"Er… Stop playing word games with me! It hurts my head!"

Butler simply shrugged at this. At that, he motioned to someone behind him, and another person stepped out from behind the trees.

It was Jun.

"Whoa, he really is a magician!" Raven exclaimed and began clapping her hands. "Bravo!"

Green smacked the back of her head, sighing and shaking his own head. "You're annoying. Just keep quiet. We'll deal with this."

"Oh, that's fine with me. You deal with him."

Green shook his head some more and stepped towards Butler. "Er, anyways, Butler guy, what're you doing here?"

However, Jun spoke in place of Butler. "You people are interfering far too much."

"Huh? Jun, what're you talking about…?"

"I am not this Jun of who you talk about," he said. Well, he looked like Jun, and his voice kind of sounded like Jun's, but it was completely deadpan. "I encountered the boy last night as I wandered around the area. I determined that he would be a suitable host for communication with you humans."

"Whoa, Jun sounds actually smart!" Lucas exclaimed and looked at Raven in surprise. "What happened to him?"

"Didn't you listen to a word he said!" Raven asked and shook Lucas around. "L-I-S-T-E-N!"

"Well, anyways…" Green said slowly. "What're you talking about us interfering? We're just trying to save the world, is all. We're being heroes."

"You most certainly are not," the Other Jun said. "Mr. Butler has informed me of your plans. I do not wish for you people to live in my world. It is my duty to keep the world in balance, but your entering this world is disturbing the balance. I must ask you to stop your plans."

"Wait, what? We aren't doing anything! It's this Butler guy that's doing this!"

"I do not believe you. If you continue to protest, I will be forced to physically stop you."

"No, wait a second…"

The Other Jun turned back to Butler and said, "Please take care of my host body for a moment."

"Of course!"

Suddenly, the Other Jun collapsed to the ground, with Butler catching him. However, something had emerged from the Other Jun…

A large, snake-like black thing had exited his body. It hung in the air for a moment, its red eyes looking at them. It had several yellow arms in front of itself…

The blackness expanded from its sides, taking the form of wings. It continued to look at the now-stunned group.

"Everyone, run!" Green shouted.

But it lunged forward, a horrible screeching noise coming from it.

* * *

You know, I was replaying my Platinum game that I recently found under my couch, and I had totally forgot about that part with Cyrus and Giratina at Mt. Coronet, and I was like, "Oh, damn, this part was so cool! How'd I forget about it?"

...Yeahhhh. I can't believe that I updated this story with nearly 20 chapters in one day. I'm sorry for everyone who got an e-mail telling you that it was updated.

...That includes myself. I can't figure out how to make it not do that...


	42. Chapter Forty One

Author's Notes: ...Oddly, I can use computers really well, but with cell phones, I'm pretty useless.

* * *

Chapter Forty-One

"So, like, why are you guys using computers to try and get into contact with other people?"

That was Sinnoh's ice-type Gym Leader, Candice, speaking. She leaned against a table, watching other people work on… well, computers.

"…Hey, I have a question," Brendan said and looked at her. He was one of the ones working on said computers. "If you're an idiot, why aren't you with the others that left?"

"Huh? Cause I wanted to stay here, that's why!… Wait a second, I'm not an idiot! That's so mean!"

Brendan simply snickered to himself as he turned back to face the screen of the laptop he was using.

The Battle Factory had a lot of computers, laptops included, so he was using one of those. So far, though, he couldn't even connect to the internet, and the clock on it couldn't seem to get the time correctly: it jumped to different times every minute.

Just then, someone burst into the room there were in, holding a cell phone up in the air. "Everyone!~~"

…It was Cynthia.

"Oh, hi, Cynthia! Nice cell phone!" Candice said happily and ran towards her, taking a look at her cell phone. "Ohhh, cute cell phone strap! I didn't know you were a Giratina fan."

"Oh, you like it?" Cynthia asked and held it out to Candice. "Yeah, I found the Giratina cell phone strap at a store! Isn't it so cute?"

"Um, hello? What'd you come in here for?" someone else shouted.

"Oh… right!" Cynthia shook her head a bit before holding her cell phone out to everyone. "Look! It's a text message from my grandma in Celestic Town!"

That got everyone's attention, apparently. Everyone in the room gathered around to look at the message on Cynthia's phone. It said…

"A"

"…Er, what is this?"

"Why's it just say 'a'?"

"Oh, that's because my grandma doesn't really know how to use cell phones…" Cynthia trailed off. "I replied back to her, though. So she might answer in a bit. My sister's probably helping her with the phone…"

So everyone waited around a bit for Cynthia's grandma to text back.

…And finally, the phone beeped a couple of times. Everyone jumped back up and crowded around again. Cynthia read the message out loud…

"Hey, Cynthia. It's your sis. I'm just gonna tell you everything Grandma is telling me to do… She says that-"

…The message cut off there.

"Okay, what the hell?"

"Sorry, I'm sure my sister and Grandma are just fighting. Grandma probably made her press the send button before she was done!"

Everyone simply sighed and waited for the next message. It came within a minute, luckily. And, yet again, Cynthia read it out loud…

"It appears as though the portal to the Distortion World has reappeared again! It's growing at an increasing rate. Everyone in Sinnoh is in a panic! When the portal gets closer to another area, it-"

And, yet again, the message cut off. Everyone sighed yet again. And, once again, another message popped up.

"The area begins to distort! I am sure that if that portal does not close, it will spread beyond Sinnoh! It will be the end of the world!… By the way, when you're done, come back home! I baked cookies! Ttyl!"

Brendan had started to laugh hysterically. Although he was covering his face. But it was still painfully obvious that he was laughing.

"I see… This is really bad," Cynthia said, punching it numbers on her phone. "I-will-come-home-soon. Save-me-some-cookies."

"If you keep reading the message out loud, I think that white-haired boy is gonna die from laughing," Candice added. Well, Brendan_ was_ laughing pretty hard…

Cynthia put the phone into one of her pockets, starting to talk again. "In any case, I hope the others might've found something. Right now, I'm sure that if we can find Giratina, it can return the world to normal…!"

Everyone nodded and, instead of continuing their computer work, all hurried outside.

…A horrid scream was heard off in the distance.

"…Er, what was… that?" Candice asked, looking off north, where the scream was heard.

"Uh, you know, I'm better suited for indoor work," Thorton said and spun around, running off towards the Battle Factory. Only to be stopped by Pearl, who was among those who left the building.

"It doesn't matter where you're better suited to work at. We all need to work together in this!"

Thorton frowned but, nevertheless, stopped trying to run back inside the building.

And they all hurried north, towards the screech they had just heard…

* * *

Raven lay face down in the grass, covering her head and staying still. She moved slightly to look to her right, where she saw Lucas laying there as well. He noticed her, and they both nodded before sitting up to look around.

…This was not the place they'd just been at.

They were on a red, stone platform. Other similar stone platforms floated around them, and the sky was a dark blue. Together, they both looked over the edge of the stone they were on.

It was one, big swirl. It spun, and spun, and spun…

"W-where are we?" Raven stammered.

"…This is the Distortion World's true appearance."

Raven looked up at Lucas, who had answered her question. "What? L-Lucas, how do you know that?"

"Because… I've been here before."

"H-huh?"

Lucas looked at her, a dead serious look on his face. "Someone really similar happened like this before. Remember how you dealt with Kyogre and Groudon in Hoenn? Well, Jun, Dawn, and I dealt with a situation like this not too long after that happened.

"A guy named Cyrus gained control of two legendary Pokémon, Dialga and Palkia. Not even 5 minutes after he summoned them did another Pokémon appear…

"It was Giratina. It came because the balance of the world was becoming unstable, due to Dialga and Palkia both being right next to each other.

"It brought Cyrus into the Distortion World, and the three of us followed after him and Giratina with Cynthia.

"And it looked just like this place."

Raven gulped and looked down at the endless swirl. "R-really…?"

Lucas nodded. He held out his hand to Raven and pulled her up. Pulling her along, he jumped off the platform to another one nearby.

…It was almost like they floated to the platform.

"What's going on…?"

"Ah, don't worry. I won't let you fall." Lucas grinned back at her, leading her along. How he knew where he was going, she hadn't a single idea.

…But where was everyone else? Were they wandering around, trying to find each other?

Off in the distance, they both heard the sound of… a machine? It was an odd, whirring noise. Almost like a plane, or something.

"Hey, look!" Lucas pointed off somewhere, and Raven looked off in that direction.

There was something flying towards them.

"What the heck is that?"

"When we first came here, we were helped out by Zero and Newton, who were both already residing here. That ship thing we were all using as a base earlier? Well… it's actually a flying ship!"

"…Huh? Are you joking?"

"Nope! And right now, I'm sure they've spotted us and are coming to pick us up!"

Raven grimaced and continued to watch the ship flying towards them. Sure enough, it stopped when it was close enough to them, and something on the top of the ship opened up.

Infi's head popped out of the hole that opened up and she looked towards them. "Jump onto the wing of the ship, please."

"Come on!" Lucas exclaimed and pulled Raven off the platform. Together, they landed on the wing of the ship and walked along it until they were where Infi was waiting for them. She moved out of the way as they got there, and together they jumped into it.

…Yes, this was the inside of the ship that Raven recognized. She'd memerized it from when she and Infi had cleaned the entire place.

"Hey!" Newton greeted them happily.

Raven looked around and saw that everyone else that had been with them earlier was there. Including Jun, who was apparently sleeping on a couch there.

"Ugh. I didn't know this thing flew…" Raven mumbled and sat down on the couch next to Jun. "What the heck is happening…?"

"Well," Green said, and put down a mysterious teacup filled with what was hopefully tea. "It looks like Team Galactic has Giratina under their control. Apparently, they must've lied to it and told it that we were the ones responsible for this. It seems like it believes them, unfortunately."

Raven sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "Ugh… Just when I was hoping everything was normal."

"Yeah, I know," Green sighed, beginning to shake his head. "All I wished was for a normal summer, beating all the trainers who came to challenge me. Instead, I end up getting told to come to the Sinnoh region to deal with a bunch of crazy asses. This is seriously annoying."

"Oh, I forgot that you were a Gym Leader. If you're not there, do they just tell the challengers to go away?"

"Well, my gym has a computer program set up that automatically battles for me in case I'm not there."

"What? Is something like that even possible?"

…Raven and Green's conversation had gotten a bit off topic. Well, perhaps it was a good thing. To temporarily forget about their current problem.

Lucas took a seat on the floor, leaning against a wall. "I guess trying to get Giratina to help us is out of the question, right?"

"Looks like it," Newton answered. "It didn't listen to anything you guys had to say and just opted to attack instead."

"Yeah. It also possessed Jun, too, and was speaking through him."

"Hmm, that seems to be so. At least it left Jun behind. I would imagine that it would need to possess someone else the next time it needs to speak, so we should all be careful."

"…Lucas?"

Lucas looked over to where Raven had called him. "Yeah?"

"When did you get so smart?"

"Well, I _can_ be serious sometimes, you know!"

"It's not Lucas-like! I forbid it!"

"So, what _is_ Lucas-like?"

"You know, slow and with delayed reaction! The one who can absorb insults like a sponge!"

Green sighed and interrupted them, saying, "Will you two just quit that? It's seriously annoying!"

"Sorry, captain."

Just then, a hologram of Infi appeared in the room, much to the surprise of everyone (except Newton.)

"There is an unknown flying object following the ship."

"A UFO?"

"Have you told Zero about it?" Newton asked.

"Yes. He is currently slowing down the ship. I am requesting that everyone look out the window to see it. Perhaps someone would know what it is."

At that, everyone hurried to one of the ship's windows, watching for whatever would pass by. The ship was beginning to slow down, yet it was still hovering in the air.

…It wasn't one thing that passed by the window, though. It was three lights that passed by the window. A pink one, a blue one, and a yellow one. Apparently, the lights hadn't noticed that the ship was slowing down, so they flew right by the ship. They then turned around and flew back to look back at them through the window.

"…Oh," Lucas and Raven both answered.

"What, do you guys know what it is?"

"Well, I do," Lucas answered and then looked at Raven. "But why did you say 'oh', too?"

"I don't know."

Everyone naturally sighed as Lucas began to talk again. "Those lights are…"

"…They are…?"

"Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf."

"…Er, what're those?" Green asked.

"Oh, they're legendary Pokémon," Lucas answered. He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm telling you, more legendary Pokémon have appeared within this single week than they have within a century…"


	43. Chapter Forty Two

Chapter Forty-Two

"Ohhh, it's so cute!~ I just wanna hug it! Come here, little cutie! Come here!"

…Raven was making noises that one would make to a baby at the three Pokémon that were outside the window. Well, there was no denying it… They were cute. Of course, they looked like they'd rather die that get into Raven's hands. Smart Pokémon.

"But why are they here?" Newton asked.

"Beats me. Why don't you ask them?"

"Okay!" Newton said happily, much to Green's horror. "Hey, little Pokémon! What're you doing here?"

Whether the three Pokémon were able to hear Newton through the window was unknown, but they flew forwards and began going off ahead of the ship.

"…Oh! They want us to follow them!" Raven said and began nodding.

"What? How do you know that?"

"Well, it's totally obvious! They stopped by the window, and then flew on ahead! They want us to follow them!"

"Very well. I will go inform Zero of that," the Infi hologram said and disappeared from the room. In a couple of seconds, the ship began moving forwards, following after the three Pokémon…

* * *

"Omg, wtf!"

…Candice used text speak for no apparent reason.

Well, the group back at the Battle Frontier had left the area to go look for everyone else… But the area had changed. It now looked like the area that other group was currently encountering. Unfortunately, whenever they tried to go back to the Battle Frontier, they couldn't seem to find it, only winding up at more weird, floating platforms.

"This… is the Distortion World's true appearance," Cynthia said solemnly.

"Whaaattt?"

"…This is seriously bad."

"Oh, really? Never would've guessed that one," Brendan sarcastically said, earning him a punch on the head from Cynthia.

However, something flew over them, causing them all to look up. Looking for whatever flew by was interrupted when they turned their attention back to their front…

Where a flying ship was approaching them.

"Oh, god," Brendan grumbled. At that, he dramatically fell to his knees, raised his arms to the sky and shouted, "Why meee, god? Why meeee?"

And while Brendan had his drama queen moment, the ship came to a stop next to the platform they stood at. The roof opened up, and a familiar face popped out.

"Oh! It's that weird, rainbow colored chickadee!"

"I am not a chickadee," Infi answered. "Now, please get inside the ship. We will explain things to you in there."

"Okay then!"

Everyone hurried to get inside the ship, with Pearl dragging the drama queen Brendan along. Once they were inside, Newton gave them a quick rundown of everything happening…

And Brendan continued to raise his hands to the ceiling and shout, "WHY ME, GOD?"

"Phiiphii!"

"Oh, the cute Pokémon are back!" Raven said happily, pressing her face to the window. "Hello, cute little babies! Ooohhh, come here! Let me give you a kissie!"

"Do we have to tie Raven to a chair so she won't eat the Pokémon?" Dawn asked. Despite just learning about their new problem, she didn't seem fazed by the fact that Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit were flying outside the window.

"What? I wouldn't eat them!… Probably!"

"That's _so_ reassuring."

"Anyways!" Raven said happily and jumped away from the window. "I think the three cute Pokémon are going to lead us to Giratina!"

"And what makes you say that?" Brendan asked, quitting his tantrum for a moment.

"I have _no_ idea!"

But, regardless, the three Pokémon flew ahead of the ship, and the ship began moving to follow them. The Pokémon lead them through the random, floating stones, going on and on…

Raven spotted a couple of stone platforms with pools of water in them. But the oddest part about some of them…

The platforms were floating upside down with water in them, yet the water didn't fall out.

"…I'm starting to feel sick from looking at this," she grumbled and slumped down in her seat.

Jun was finally starting to wake up, and as he did so, he shot straight up in the air, screaming random nonsense.

"…Where the what am I?"

"Please, speak English."

"I asked where am I?"

"You're on Zero's magic flying ship!"

"…"

Jun lay back down and shut his eyes. "Okay, I'm just gonna go back to sleep now…"

Unfortunately, he was given an earful by just about everyone, mostly about how he should've come back last night, or how stupid he was, or how he needs to make sure that Raven doesn't eat the Pokémon…

Soon enough, a voice blared out of nowhere, scaring the hell out of just about everyone.

"There's something up ahead."

"…Oh, it's just Zero," Raven sighed in relief.

Everyone went into the ship's main room, where Zero was controlling the ship all by himself. A big window showed everything in front of them, and sure enough, they could see a group of people ahead of them.

"It's that guy!" Raven screamed and began shaking a finger at the group. "It's Butler!"

"Well, don't worry!" Zero said, tightening his grip on the controls. "My Super-Cutie-Mecha-Number-2 can withstand any attacks they throw at us!"

"…Super what?"

"Oh, my god, he named the ship!" Brendan fell to his knees yet again and yelled at the ceiling, "WHY ME, GOD?"

"How long are you going to keep doing that?" Pearl grumbled.

Just then, something slammed into the ship, knocking everyone off balance. The ship tilted to the side, and everyone tumbled across the ship.

And then, it crashed into ground, skidding to a stop.

"I thought you said the ship can withstand anything!"

"Well, I guess not!" Zero laughed and crossed his arms. "No worries! I'll just repair!… Now, get outta my ship! I need to do work!"

"What? Did you _not_ notice who's ahead of us?"

"You're all perfectly capable of handling them. Do your best!"

And so, everyone slowly got out of the now smoking ship, walking down the stone platform. Luckily, it was pretty long, and big as well, so everyone was able to fit onto it. All the way across the long platform, Team Galactic plus Butler and Diane stood.

"…Hey," Raven began and looked at the others coming out of the ship. "When the heck did the Gym Leaders all get on here!"

"They got on when we got on," Pearl answered.

"…Ugh…"

But, anyways. Cynthia walked forward to stand in front of everyone and began talking to everyone.

"Alright, guys. It appears as though Giratina won't listen to anything we'll have to say. But, first off, I'll take the lead and try to negotiate with them. And… if they still won't listen, well…" Cynthia trailed off with what she was saying, but everyone seemed to know exactly what she meant.

"…Well, I'll go on ahead. When I call, I want all of you to come after me. Okay."

Everyone nodded, and with that, Cynthia walked down the platform, all the way to where their opponents stood.

No one could hear what she was saying, and they couldn't tell what was going on by her movements either. They could only see her talking to them. Butler answered her back a couple of times, and Charon did so as well.

Eventually, Cynthia turned around and began walking back towards them, a smile on her face. "Okay, guys, we've come to an agreement. They said that they'll…"

But Cynthia didn't see what was happening behind her. All she saw was that everyone else was moving forward, and someone shouted her name…

_Bzzzt…_

"CYNTHIA!"

Cynthia flew across the platform, landing on the ground and rolling behind coming to a stop in front of the group.

"C-Cynthia!"

Raven looked up at Team Galactic, seeing Charon's Rotom floating in front of them, a grin plastered on its face. It had electrocuted Cynthia…

"…"

"Everyone, this is war!" Palmer shouted, and everyone shouted "YEAH!" in return. At that, they all sent out every one of their Pokémon, and they charged forward to fight Team Galactic…


	44. Chapter Forty Three

Chapter Forty-Three

Not only Pokémon fought, but the humans did as well. Team Galactic sent out their own Pokémon and joined in on the fight. Attacks literally flew everywhere, and with the Distortion World's lack of physics, others could jump onto sideways platforms and stay there.

Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit attempted to join in on the fight, but to no avail… They only got knocked backwards, or mistakenly attacked by an ally's attack.

Giratina didn't seem to quite understand the fighting, but it joined with Team Galactic, fighting against the Gym Leaders and the others.

And all while they fought, the Distortion World expanded, swallowing up the Sinnoh region…

* * *

Raven was intent on getting to Butler. She knew she didn't stand a chance against him, but she really just wanted to land a punch on his lying face.

…It was a bit hard, though. She couldn't get past the fighting Pokémon or the Team Galactic grunts.

"Bibi!"

…Her Magnemite was floating around her head eagerly. She felt like she could understand what it was trying to tell her, so she nodded. It sat on top of her head, sparking with electricity.

"Here I goooo!"

The situation calls for a battle cry, of course.

She charged forwards, Magnemite electrocuting her as she charged forwards. Truthfully, it hurt, but she was just going to get through the crowd and head butt anyone she could…

Surprisingly, it worked. She knocked people and Pokémon aside, much to their surprise. She couldn't even see ahead of herself, but she just ran, and ran…

Raven felt herself run into something hard. She hadn't a single idea what it was, but she just kept on pushing, and pushing, trying to get through it.

…And then, she and Magnemite were sent flying through the air.

She landed on the ground in front of Zero's ship, with Magnemite falling down nearby. Raven pushed herself up and, giving Magnemite a quick glance before she realized it had fainted, quickly returned it to its Poké Ball.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Jun shouted. "This is useless! How are we supposed to stop all of this if Giratina is fighting _against_ us?"

"…I think I have an idea!" Palmer exclaimed.

"Ohhh! What is it, Daddy- er, I meant Dad!"

"We'll… challenge Giratina personally to a battle."

"…What? Are you sure something like that will work?"

"Of course! If it has any pride at all, it will accept the battle! All we have to do is make sure that we add in, like, a bargain or something… Like, if we win, Giratina will take our side and return the world to how it was! But if we lose… It can eat us!"

"All right!"

"I don't want to be eaten!" Lucas whined. "And what if we lose, huh?"

"Then we'll be eaten."

"I don't want that! Make a different bargain!"

Cynthia was suddenly standing there with the three, having recovered from being thrown earlier. "…I think I can come up with a good enough deal for it. But challenging it like that… It's a good idea."

"What, really? You think so?" Palmer asked excitedly.

Cynthia nodded. "…I'll go ahead and ask right now."

At that, Cynthia walked forward and raised her hands in the air, shouting, "Everyone! Please stop and listen to me for a moment!"

Surprisingly, everyone immediately halted their fighting to look back at Cynthia.

She held out her hand to Giratina, although she wasn't really expecting it to shake it in return or anything.

"Giratina, please! Listen to my request!… I want to personally battle you myself. If I win… You will leave us alone and let the world be sucked in here. If I lose… You will return the world to normal."

"Wait a second!" Jun whispered to the others. "What's she talking about? She means it the other way around, doesn't she?"

"No, no!" Lucas shook his head and whispered, "Giratina still thinks that we're the ones who want to have the world like this, remember? So, she's doing it in reverse, to make it seem like that, you know? I'm sure she'll intentionally lose so Giratina will return the world to normal!"

"Oh… Ohhhh. That's really smart!"

Cynthia was still standing there, her hand outstretched. Giratina stared at her for a painfully long time before it finally responded.

…It nodded its head.

Everyone looked at one another and began to back away to the sides of the platform that they had originally been on. When there was enough room for it to be a field for Cynthia and Giratina to battle on, Cynthia stepped back to her group.

"Okay… who has the weakest Pokémon?"

"Um…"

…Well, no one really wanted to admit that they had the weakest Pokémon. Eventually, though, a couple of them handed her their Poké Balls.

Raven handed her the Poké Ball with Pichu in it, Yellow handed her the Poké Ball that had her Raticate, Lyra handed her two Poké Balls that contained a Chikorita and a Marill, and Newton handed her a Poké Ball that had a Shieldon.

"All right, thank you!"

Cynthia turned back around and headed over to stand in front of Giratina. "All right, I'm ready when you are!"

Giratina nodded, and Cynthia let out her first Pokémon, which was Raven's Pichu.

"Use Thundershock!" Cynthia shouted. How she knew that Pichu knew that move was unknown.

Pichu let out a small thing of electricity, which barely did anything to Giratina. Giratina surged forwards, slamming into Pichu and sending him flying backwards.

Pichu instantly fell unconscious, and Cynthia returned him to his Poké Ball. She quickly sent out Yellow's Raticate, who also didn't stand a chance against Giratina. Next up was Lyra's Chikorita, who was instantly knocked out just by the sight of Giratina.

Needless to say, Marill was knocked out by a blow, and then it was Newton's Shieldon finally.

Giratina once again lunged forward to slam into Shieldon when it was suddenly flung to the side. It crashed into the ground, struggling to push itself up.

"W-what was…?" Cynthia began and looked around. Shieldon certainly hadn't attacked, and it, too, was confused.

As Giratina struggled to get up, another attack slammed into it. This time, Cynthia was able to pinpoint the location of the mysterious attacker…

A Salamence was standing on a nearby platform, Butler standing next to it with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What's he trying to do, huh?" Jun snapped.

"Isn't it obvious?" Newton answered and shook his head. "He's trying to defeat Giratina himself! That way, Giratina will have to comply to the option that it lost, and allow the Distortion World to keep expanding.

"Oh… Ohhhh. Ugh, that's totally unfair!"

Someone began tapping on Newton's shoulder, and he looked behind himself to see Raven. "Hm? Yes?"

"I'll take care of Butler."

"…Huh? Are you sure?"

Raven nodded eagerly. She turned towards Yellow and whispered something to her, and Yellow let out one of her own Pokémon; a Butterfree.

"Yellow's Butterfree can bring me up there."

Newton sighed and shrugged. "Go ahead, then."

Yellow's Butterfree latched onto Raven's back and Raven ran to the edge of the platform they were on, jumping off of it. Butterfree flapped its wings, flying Raven to the platform that Butler and his Salamence stood on.

When it got there, it let go of Raven, letting her drop onto the platform. Butterfree flew back down to its trainer, leaving Raven there to battle Butler.

"Oh? What're you doing up here?"

"Butler, quit it!" she snapped. "You're totally cheating, you know! You can't attack Giratina from afar! That's cheating!"

"Well, my Salamence needed to get rid of some of its energy. It gets far too hyper, you know? A little target practice won't hurt. And besides…" Butler narrowed his eyes at her then, a smug look on his face.

"You guys aren't playing very fair either. It doesn't take an idiot to figure out that you're intentionally using weak Pokémon to battle Giratina. So I thought, why not give Giratina a real challenge and make it wonder where the attacks are coming from!"

"Butler! I challenge you to a battle!… With both our Pokémon _and_ ourselves battling!"

Butler finally stopped talking, opting to glare at Raven instead. "…Fine, I accept that challenge."

And whilst Cynthia battled Giratina below, Raven and Butler began their own battle above…


	45. Chapter Forty Four

Author's Notes: Random fist-to-fist fighting! :D YAAAYYY!

* * *

Chapter Forty-Four

Raven sent out all of her Pokémon, minus Pichu, Croagunk, and Magnemite. Butler also sent out his own Pokémon.

So it was Piplup, Cherrim, Guru-n, and Chao versus Salamence, Mightyena, Kirlia, and Dusclops.

The Pokémon began fighting against one another without commands from their trainers, who also began to fight one another.

…Although it was horribly obvious that Raven wouldn't… No, couldn't stand a chance.

Despite running forwards and trying to land a punch on Butler, her aim was terrible, and she missed him completely. Butler planted a punch on her stomach and then sent her flying with a kick.

Luckily for her, Guru-n managed to catch her with one arm and put her back on her feet. Quickly thanking her Pokémon, she charged towards Butler once again.

_Move left!_

She didn't even know where the voice came from, but she quickly ducked left; Butler's leg swung over her from the right.

_Cover your head, and throw yourself to the right!_

Raven did as told, covering her head and launching herself to the right. She felt herself collide with Butler, and they both tumbled to the ground.

_Hurry, roll left! He's going to kick you!_

Still covering her head, she rolled to the right, and felt something touch her back for a moment and hit the ground.

_Stand up! Run forwards!_

She still didn't know, or care, why she was listening to the odd voice in her head. Nonetheless, she quickly stood up and stumbled forwards, ramming into Butler's stomach with her head. They both fell to the ground once again, and she felt herself being picked up by her hair.

Raven felt herself being smacked in the face, first on her left cheek, then on her right. A terrible pain spread across her chest, and she flew backwards; Butler kicked her in the chest.

She spit onto the ground, seeing blood fall to the ground. This was bad… she'd get herself killed if she kept it up.

_Hurry! You have to get up!_

"I-I… I can't…"

She suddenly felt like she could actually win, and she quickly stood up, attempting to punch Butler.

He grabbed her arm and yanked her forward, kneeing her in the chest. She gagged; she couldn't even see, but she was sure she'd coughed up blood just then.

Raven fell to her knees and then felt a foot on her back… and then she skidded across the ground, coughing some more.

_Come on, you can do it! Stand back up, and swing your leg to the left!_

She struggled to push herself up, and she swung her leg to the side. She felt her leg hit something, and then the sound of Butler falling.

_Hurry, sit on him! Beat him! Go!_

Raven stumbled forwards until she tripped over something. She held onto it with one hand, and sat down on it. And then she simply just started punching, feeling her fists hit something each time.

She struggled to open her eyes, and saw that, yes, she was punching Butler. He then grabbed her by her shoulders, and brought his head up, colliding their heads together.

"Raven!"

…She heard Piplup shouting her name as she fell to the ground. Now Butler was punching her, left, right, left, right…

She felt the weight on her chest getting lifted off, and she managed to open her eyes to see that Guru-n had picked up Butler and thrown him.

"N… No…"

"S-sensei…" Guru-n mumbled, helping her stand up. "You don't need to fight anymore! We defeated his Pokémon!"

"N-no…"

"Seriously, stop it! You don't need to fight at all!"

Raven pulled her arm away from Guru-n and ran forwards to where Butler was now standing up. She tackled him, head on, and they both fell off the platform…

"S-sensei!"

She held onto Butler as tight as she could, determined not to let him go… If she was gonna die, so was he.

…She was seriously struggling to stay awake. Everything hurt, and she felt exhausted. What was going on down there; had Giratina won against Cynthia? Everything would be returned to normal, right?

Everything was wavering. Raven loosened her grip on Butler's clothing. She didn't have the strength anymore to hold on…

The last thing she remembered, or rather, felt, was someone grabbing onto her hands as she let go of Butler's clothing…

* * *

Butler felt the kid loosen her grip on him, and he noticed… that she was falling unconscious.

…He couldn't let a kid fall to their own death, could he?

…Perhaps… it might not do any good, but… he could protect this kid, even if it's a little, from her certain death…

He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her, almost like a protective shell, or something like that.

He could hear Charon's shouting…

"Why? Why must you continue to interfere with our plans? That fool Cyrus… I was intent on finishing what he started! But everyone simply stops my plans! Why can't you just help with my plans? They're for the good of the planet!"

…But none of that mattered. That old man could go on about his nonsense all he wants. Butler… could continue his magic shows, across the country… Never again will he let something like money change his path or ideals…

…Did he himself fall unconscious, or did he die? He heard noise… no, voices…

"Yeah! We caught them!"

"Good catch, Palmer!"

"Hey… look! Why's this guy holding Raven like that?"

"…I'm sure… he was trying to protect her, that's all!"

…He opened his eyes and was met with the colorful array of people that made up the group that Charon hated so much.

"Oh, hey! He's awake!"

"…Where…?"

Butler sat up… He was on the wing of that weird ship that was flying around earlier. Just as he began to look around, though, he was met with a slap across his face.

"…Ow."

…Butler looked up to see the blonde woman… her name was something like Cynthia or something like that.

"You're truly an idiot," she said. She didn't make eye contact, or rather, didn't even look at him.

"…The places we are born. The time we spend living… The languages we speak… We are all different. But the presence of Pokémon unites us. We share our lives with our Pokémon, and our happiness grows as we all become greater than we were alone.

"That is why we can battle and trade with anyone we choose…"

Butler looked away from the woman. Was she talking to him, or was she simply talking aloud to anyone who'd listen?

"Since there is sadness, we can feel joy. When there is anger, compassion is born…" The woman looked down at him. "That's why Raven physically fought against you. That's what I think. Now…"

She turned back to looked at everyone else. "…Let's go home."

"YEAHHH!"

Butler slowly got up and went inside the ship with everyone else…


	46. Chapter Forty Five VS Palmer

Author's Notes: The line at the beginning of the chapter... Anyone who's played Pokémon Platinum would recognize it. It's the first line that appears on the TV at the start of the game.

...And a random Frontier Brain battle.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Five

"Pokémon are by our side, always. I hope you will understand the meaning of those words."

"That was the comment left by Prof. Rowan, who recently allowed us to interview him, along with the other professors from Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, who are visiting the Sinnoh region on account of business! And that concludes our super special edition of "Let's Ask Prof. Rowan!" Brought to you by Jubilife TV on Nationwide Net! See you next week, same time, same channel!"

…She opened her eyes and saw a white ceiling. White walls. A TV on the wall. It smelled like antiseptic. When she sat up, she felt a pain and saw herself wearing a hospital gown, bandages wrapped around her body.

…Raven was in a hospital.

…And someone was holding her hand.

Lucas was there, holding her hand, but leaning over onto the bed, fast asleep. So she reached over and began tapping his cheek.

"Hey. Heyyyy. Wake up."

"…Huh?" Lucas mumbled as he sat up, a string of drool dripping onto the sheets. With his other hand, he quickly wiped his face off. "Oh… Good morning!"

"What happened?"

"You were sleeping."

"No shit, really? How long have I been asleep?"

"Er… well, let's see… about one day, is all, actually."

"So, what happened?"

"You were asleep for a whole day!"

Raven smacked Lucas upside the head. "You know what I'm talking about! Come on, be serious! You were all serious earlier, and that was cool, so why can't you be serious now!"

"Ahahah, sorry, sorry. Well, ahem…" Lucas began, coughing into his hand for a second. "Well, this time, the police actually managed to arrest absolutely every single Team Galactic person, and Butler was arrested too.

"Most of the Gym Leaders returned back to their respective regions. Oh, expect for that one guy, Green, from Kanto. He said he and Red were both gonna try out the Battle Frontier for a while.

"Mesprit, Uxie, and Azelf, uh, returned back to their respective lakes. They said 'No way are we gonna let her kiss or hug us. She scares us.' Also, Mesprit said that it was the one who was telling you what to do telephatically. It was happy that you listened to it and that you didn't give up.

"Um, what else…? Oh, yeah. Palmer said that he'd like to have a battle against you. An official Frontier Brain battle, he said. No need to go through 21 consecutive battles first! Oh, but Argenta, Dahlia, Darach, and Caitlin said that they'd like to battle you as well, but you'll have to actually go through their faculties first.

"Also! Cynthia left behind some cookies for you! Have one, they're really good!"

…And so, Raven and Lucas sat there, watching TV and eating cookies.

Everything was finally normal.

* * *

Later on that day, Lucas and Raven returned back to the Battle Frontier. Despite the doctors wanting Raven to stay a bit longer due to her injuries, Raven refused. Damn stubborn girl… I mean, on with the story.

"Oh, hello, you're not dead yet!" Brendan greeted her with that statement happily.

"You know what? I'm in a good mood today, so I'm not going to say anything rude back to you!"

"Oh, my god, who are you and what've you done with Raven?"

Raven ignored him, nose held high, as she walked off towards the Battle Tower, fully intent on battling Palmer and winning.

After getting her Pokémon back from Dawn, who'd been taking care of them for her, she walked right up to the Battle Tower attendants, her ego so big that you could see it from a mile away.

"Hi! I'd like to take up a request from the Tower Tycoon Palmer! Tell him that it's challenger Raven!"

The attendant nodded slightly, hurrying off to go find Palmer, wherever he might be running around at…

Within a minute, the attendant came back and said, "So sorry to make you wait! Please, follow me!"

Raven quickly followed the attendant as they made their way into an elevator. The elevator traveled through the building, soon coming to a stop, and the attendant led her into a room where she took her spot at one end of the field.

Palmer soon charged into the room, skidding to a stop onto the spot where he would stand. He raised a finger to point at Raven, and shouted…

"Hahahah! You'll _never_ beat me!… I've already forgotten your name! Sorry!"

"Well, well, well!" Raven said and started laughing… an evil laugh it was. "Palmer, you should totally know me! I'm… Raven!"

"Fwahahah!… And I'm Palmer!"

And, for no apparent reason, the two laughed loudly. The battle between two great boneheads… Who would win?

"Let the battle begin," a computer voice sounded out.

Palmer made a face at that. "Damn robotic voices… Thorton installed them all over the Frontier! But you know, I prefer an actual human observing the battle! Hey, attendant behind the kid, you don't mind refereeing the battle, do you?"

"Oh, uh, it'd be an honor to do so, sir!" the attendant stammered and ran over to take a place at the side of the field. "Okay… let the battle between Raven and the Tower Tycoon Palmer begin!"

"Alright!" Palmer shouted and tossed a Poké Ball in the air. "Go, Milotic!"

"Okay, then I'll choose Cherrim!" Raven said, letting out Cherrim at the same time that Palmer's Pokémon, a serpentine, tan Pokémon, came out.

"Milotic, use Ice Beam!"

"Cherrim, Sunny Day!"

A white ball appeared on the end of the pink appendage on Cherrim's head, and Cherrim tossed it up in the air. It suddenly became brighter in the room, and the white ball was shining like the sun. At that, Cherrim transformed into his sunshine form.

Milotic fired off a thin, light blue beam that crashed into Cherrim, knocking him backwards. Yet, Cherrim still seemed to look happy, singing a horrible rendition of the first Pokémon season's opening song…

"Solarbeam!"

"Hypnosis!"

Cherrim stopped his singing that would've automatically had him kicked off of American Idol and the petal on his forehead began to glow for a moment. A beam of light tumbled towards Milotic, slamming into it. Milotic wasn't knocked out just yet, and it began to emit several oddly colored circles at Cherrim…

Who suddenly toppled over and fell asleep.

"…Oh, crap!" Raven grumbled and quickly took out Cherrim's Poké Ball, returning him to it. She then let out a different Pokémon to take Cherrim's place… "Go, Guru-n!"

Guru-n came out to stand in front of Raven, awaiting his trainer's command…

"Leaf Blade!"

"Use Ice Beam!"

Guru-n charged forward, slashing at Milotic, his elbows looking a bit like blades as he slashed at it…

This time, the attack managed to knock Milotic out, with it collapsing to the ground, its long body snaking around on the field.

"Ohhh, good move!" Palmer commented as he returned Milotic to its Poké Ball. "In that case, let's see how you handle this! Go, Rhyperior!"

Palmer sent out his second Pokémon, a large, black and red dinosaur-like one.

"Rock Wrecker!"

"Use Leaf Blade again, Guru-n!"

Guru-n dashed forwards, slashing at Rhyperior as fast as he could. Rhyperior then held out its hands at Guru-n, firing off a ton of rocks at Guru-n. The attack knocked into Guru-n, he tumbling backwards and laying still.

"Okay then…" Raven sighed and returned Guru-n to his Poké Ball. "Go, Piplup!"

Raven let out Piplup, the little penguin Pokémon almost shrieking at the sight of Rhyperior.

"Oh, jeez, relax a bit, Piplup!"

"Don't you tell me to relax a bit! Look at that thing! LOOK AT IT!"

"I'm not freakin' blind, you know! Jeez, just use Whirlpool, okay?"

Piplup took in a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to relax before he began spinning around to create a whirlpool. He launched the whirlpool at Rhyperior, who was trying to rest from the attack it had just used.

"Now use Hydro Pump!"

"Okay, Rhyperior! Use Earthquake!"

Piplup spout out a jet of water at Rhyperior, managing to cause it to faint from the blow.

"Ah, damn!" Palmer grumbled as he returned Rhyperior to its Poké Ball. "Hah, kid, you aren't half bad at all! I'm already on my last Pokémon!"

"You know, I _have_ a name."

Palmer ignored what she said, sending out his last Pokémon; a yellow, dragon-like Pokémon. "My last Pokémon will be Dragonite! Got that… kid?"

"Okay, now you're just saying that to piss me off."

Palmer began laughing loudly as he said, "Yeah, I am!… But anyways! Dragonite, use Thunder Wave!"

"Piplup, use Hydro Pump again!"

Dragonite let loose a small, barely noticeable electrical current at Piplup. At the same time, Piplup shot out another jet of water at Dragonite.

However, after he did that, he came to a sudden realization…

"Ack! I can't move at all!"

"Oh, yeah, I know," Raven answered back to him. "That's 'cause they used Thunder Wave, you know? It paralyzes you."

"Well, I would've appreciated it if you switched me out beforehand!"

"…Nah, I didn't want to."

"You bastard!"

"You can't call me that!… I'm a girl!"

Palmer started laughing yet again as he listened to the two argue. "You two don't get along very well, do you?"

Raven gasped. "Blasphemy!"

Palmer laughed again as he ordered an attack for Dragonite… "Use Aerial Ace!"

"Fine then! We'll pull out a super special move that no one has seen until today!" Raven shouted. "Piplup, use Ice Beam!"

"I don't know that move, I don't know how to use it! Don't order me to use moves I don't know! It's not cool or anything like-"

…Piplup was interrupted as Dragonite lunged towards him, slashing at him with its hand.

"Come on, Piplup! Use Ice Beam! You can totally do it!"

"I can't! I'm gonna die a slow, painful death!"

"Come on! Just freeze a Hydro Pump while you let it out!"

"I'm not a-"

"Dragonite, use Aerial Ace again!"

Piplup sighed and puffed up his chest. "Okay, just kill me now."

Dragonite slashed at Piplup once again, this time knocking Piplup backwards and causing it to faint.

"Aw, come on Piplup, that's not fair…" Raven grumbled as she returned Piplup. "Okay, Cherrim, show them what we can do!"

"Same here, Dragonite!" Palmer called out. "Now… use Hyper Beam!"

"Use Take Down!"

Cherrim charged forwards as Dragonite fired off a white beam of light at it. Running into the Hyper Beam head on, he only slowed down a bit, continuing to run towards his target, ramming into Dragonite as hard as he could.

"Okay, Cherrim! Let's finish this!… Use Take Down again!"

Cherrim ran back towards Dragonite, ramming into it as hard as he could once again. This time, Dragonite toppled over, apparently having fainted…

"…Oh!" the attendant shook his head, apparently remembering that he was supposed to be a referee for the battle. "Um, Tower Tycoon Palmer is out of usable Pokémon! Challenger Raven wins!"

The attendant, being the only one there, started clapping loudly, hurrying over to Raven. Meanwhile, Palmer stood there, his arms crossed over his chest, the ends of his green coat blowing in an unseen wind…

"Bravo, kiddo!" Palmer shouted, rushing over to Raven and patting her on her head. "Great job! You battle a lot like your father, you know?"

"…Really?" Raven asked in amazement. If one looked carefully, they could see her eyes twinkling…

"Yeah! You know, your father, Dawn's father, Lucas's father, and I… we all used to battle against each other a lot! Needless to say, Yūzo was a pathetic battler… But your father was always a good battler! That's why he's a Gym Leader now!"

"Woooww! Do you think I'll be a Gym Leader someday?"

"Nope!"

Raven fell to the ground, sobbing dramatically. Cherrim hopped over to her to pat her back with his creepy, pink appendage…

"Anyways, hand me your Frontier Pass! I'll go and get the print put on it! You just go wait in the lobby, got that?"

Raven nodded and stood up, Cherrim hanging onto her shoulder as she followed the attendant out of the room and to the elevator…


	47. Chapter Forty Six

Author's Notes: This chapter is... kind of a filler chapter, you know? On the other hand, we find out a lot of useless information about Raven via Thorton and his computer abilities. :D

* * *

Chapter Forty-Six

"Data shows that you've won your second Frontier Print, correct?"

Raven screamed, jumping back as she was greeted by someone when she left the Battle Tower building. Oh, wait… judging by the way they talked, it must have been…

"Oh, it's just you, Nejiki."

Thorton frowned. "…Why did you just call me that?"

"I meant Thorton. Sorry."

"Well, pay it no mind," he said and sighed. "Anyways, like I was saying… you've won your second Frontier Print, correct?"

"Ah, yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Once a challenger gets a Frontier Print, the records are automatically updated."

"So, what? Do you sit there and look at the records all day until it changes?"

Thorton grimaced but didn't deny it. Instead, he decided to change the topic… "So, I've heard a lot of things about you recently. You've managed to become friends with Caitlin, correct? That's a first, not even us Frontier Brains were able to do that. Well, except for Dahlia, but Caitlin doesn't seem very comfortable around her…"

"Oh, yeah. Caitlin seriously needs to get out more. We brought her to the Great Marsh, and then we brought her to the Valor Lakefront! I think I'll bring her to Snowpoint City next, I think she'll be really surprised about that, you know?" Raven started laughing loudly. "I think it's funny to see her all surprised and stuff!"

"Is that so…?" Thorton mumbled. "Well, I also heard that you left the hospital without the doctor's permission?"

"What? That's not true! Hahah! They _did_ want me to stay there longer, but I was all 'No way, I'm gonna go battle my brain out!'"

"Don't you think you should stay there longer? You should really allow your injuries to heal…"

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Aw, are you worrying about me? That's so nice!"

"I'm not worrying about you. Anyone who gets injured badly should stay in the hospital for the required amount of time! You're injuries could get worse if you do things the doctors tell you not to do! Did the doctors order you not to do anything?"

"Yeah, I think it was something like, 'Don't run around too much, or you'll rip a stitch!' or something like that!"

"What? You have stitches!" For some reason, Thorton seemed terrified by the mere thought of stitches. Maybe he had a bad experience with stitches…?

…Unfortunately, Raven seemed to pick up on his sudden fear. "Oh, are you afraid of stitches? You wanna see them?"

"Don't you dare! I most certainly do _not_ want to see your stitches! I don't want to!… Don't you dare lift up pants leg! No! Don't show me-!"

Thorton turned away and covered his face as Raven attempted to show him her leg, which actually had no stitches at all on it.

Thorton finally took a glance at her leg and immediately calmed down. "…There's no stitches there. You lied to me!"

"Yeah, but that was a hilarious reaction! I didn't get stitches at all! Hahah!"

…Raven seemed to find joy in Thorton's odd fear of stitches. She is a cruel, cruel child…

Thorton reached into his pocket, took out his small, blue machine, and smacked her over the head with it. "…You are an evil person, you know that?"

"Aw, but why are you so afraid of some stitches?"

"I just don't like them! The mere thought of someone's skin being stitched up with a needle is…" Thorton suddenly covered his mouth, gagging as he was talking. "Oh, jeez, I'm getting sick just thinking of it…"

Raven continued to laugh at Thorton, who looked at her like she was on the same level as a weed…

"Ah, so anyways…" Thorton began and started coughing in his hand to get her attention. "I have a favor to ask."

"What? Get you some cough drops for that cough of yours?"

"What…? Ah, no. I was wondering if, perhaps, you and I could discuss data and battle techniques? I have yet to be Palmer, probably because of his usual absurd tactics…"

Raven covered her mouth to hide a snicker and said, "You're such a nerd, Thorton."

* * *

And so, the two sat in the very same area that Raven had sat in a day or so ago with Caitlin. Thorton was discussing his nerdy… I mean, his ideas for battle techniques.

And Raven wasn't paying attention at all, opting to draw imaginary pictures on the table with her finger.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"No."

Thorton sighed, shaking his head. "You were so serious the first time you and I had a discussion like this… When you beat me at the Battle Factory." He paused and stared at her, not blinking even once.

"…Perhaps all the fighting knocked your brain around a bit and you became stupid?"

"If that's the case, you might catch my stupid."

"Such a thing is not possible."

"Oh, really? No wonder none of my friends have caught my stupid yet!"

"Your sentences are becoming very grammatically incorrect. Please stop that."

Raven laughed, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "Okay, okay, I'll try to be serious. But, you know, it's not like I suddenly got stupid! I've always been stupid! Hahah!"

Thorton forced himself to smile, just a little bit. The fact that she could so openly admit her stupidity was very odd… Not that he wasn't already used to Palmer proclaiming himself to be the "King of Stupid."

"Let's see, just a moment…" Thorton mumbled and took out his little mechanical machine, apparently looking something up. "My data shows that you currently live in the Hoenn region, correct? Hm… shows that you have all eight of that region's badges, that you competed in the Pokémon League and… Oh! You won it? I didn't expect that at all…"

Raven nodded at everything he said. Meanwhile, Thorton began listing more information about her…

"Your birthday is the 13th of February, and you're currently 13 years old. You were born in Veilstone City's hospital, but you lived in Twinleaf Town up until last year, where your family moved to Hoenn on account of your father's job.

"Your father is currently Petalburg City's Gym Leader, taking up the job from the previous leader who retired. Your mother is a competitive battler and takes up all challenges she gets.

"Your own blood type is shared with your father, which is B. Your mother's blood type is AB. Your father's birthday is December 19th. Your mother's birthday is-"

Raven quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, shaking her head around. "Okay, that's enough! That's _way_ too creepy! Stop that, don't look information about me!"

Now it was Thorton's turn to be evil. "Oh, but don't you want to hear everything about yourself? The internet is a powerful tool, you know. Let's see…

"You actually like to read, but you only enjoy children's books or things that are easy for you to understand. You attended kindergarten in Jubilife City. You actually have a number of cousins, both on your father's side of the family and your mother's side. However, many of your cousins are not trainers, and-"

"Please, stop! Stop saying all of that! How do you know about my cousins? Stop that!"

"Oh, but you didn't stop when I asked you not to show me any of your stitches," Thorton laughed. "Think of it as payback."

"I'm sorry, so please stop!"

Well, Thorton had the last laugh.


	48. Chapter Forty Seven VS Argenta

Author's Notes: I think this is the shortest chapter yet. But that's because Argenta only battles with one Pokémon.

...Which reminds me. The first time I faced Argenta in my Platinum game, I was using a Chimecho. And what did she use? A freakin' Metang. D: Needless to say, I lost that battle. Not even Grass Knot did any good against it... *sniff*

* * *

Chapter Forty-Seven

…It was now the next day, and Raven was on her way to take part in the Battle Hall.

As she had figured out when she took part in the challenge before, using Pichu was _not_ a good idea. And so, instead, she opted to use Croagunk.

"Alright, Croagunk, we've got to do our best, okay?" Raven asked. She knelt down in front of Croagunk, who stared back up at her with a blank face, its cheeks puffing in and out.

Eventually, it nodded in response to her, and so Raven and Croagunk walked out to take a spot in the line of people.

When her name was finally called, she hurried out to walk down the catwalk that she was called to. However, she soon realized that Croagunk wasn't following her at all, and when she looked back, she saw that it was still standing where she'd left it.

"Come on, Croagunk!"

It looked up, almost like it hadn't noticed she'd walked away, and slowly trudged after her.

Eventually, they started their battling, with Croagunk winning each match with a single move: Revenge. As Raven realized, the move became stronger if Croagunk was attacked beforehand, which happened quite often since Croagunk was rather slow.

And all the while, her battle streak kept increasing… 10 battles… 20 battles… 30 battles… 40 battles…

And on the 50th battle, as Raven chose the next Pokémon type to battle, the attendant stopped her and said…

"Excuse me! Please hold on a moment!"

Raven looked up in annoyance. "…What is it?"

"In recognition of your remarkable winning streak, our Frontier Brain is demanding a match with you."

"Oh… really!"

"Actually, you have no choice. You must battle our Hall Matron!"

"I didn't say that I didn't not want to not battle her!"

"…What?"

"Nothing, never mind."

Meanwhile, the entire room suddenly became dark, and all the spotlights turned towards the entrance. Everyone began cheering and clapping as a woman walked out, coming down the walkway to stand in front of Raven.

The woman pushed up the pair of sunglasses she wore so they were up on her forehead.

"My Battle Hall allows Trainers to mount challenges with their one favorite Pokémon," she began, "I imagine there were tense moments getting here with your chosen one. But understand that one shines the brightest when a challenge is overcome. I am Argenta, and I am your final and most daunting challenge. I dare you to overcome my challenge."

"Ohhh yeaaahhhh! Bring it on!"

Argenta smirked. "Very well. Let's start our battle!"

"Right! Go, Croagunk!"

Croagunk slowly, slowly, stepped out from behind Raven to stand in front of her. Meanwhile, Argenta sent out her own Pokémon…

"I'll choose Drifblim."

A purple, balloon-like Pokémon came out, swinging its four arms around just because it could.

"Ah… Drifblim, huh? So that's a ghost-type! Croagunk, use Pursuit!"

"Drifblim, Shadow Ball."

Drifblim linked its arms together, conjuring up a black glob, which it quickly tossed at Croagunk. Croagunk moved surprisingly quickly (at least, compared to how slow it usually moved) and charged forwards, striking Drifblim with its hand.

"Faint Attack!"

"Psychic."

This time, Croagunk moved first, moving quickly to slam into Drifblim. In retaliation, Drifblim simply sent Croagunk flying through the air with its psychic power.

"Let's use Psychic again, Drifblim," Argenta ordered.

"Sucker Punch!"

Just as Drifblim was about to attack again, Croagunk suddenly punched Drifblim on the X on its body. A _whoosh_ sound was heard, and Drifblim fell to the ground in a flat pile.

"…Oh my god, I killed the Drifblim! No, wait, Croagunk killed the Drifblim!"

Croagunk simply began chuckling, much to Raven's horror.

The attendant there then shouted, "Drifblim is unable to battle! Challenger Raven has defeated the Hall Matron! Congratulations!"

Raven finally calmed down. "…I didn't kill the Drifblim?"

Argenta laughed as she walked over to Raven, after returning Drifblim to its Poké Ball. "No, you didn't kill it."

"…Oh. That's good."

Argenta laughed again and said, "A good trainer doesn't force their favorite on anyone. A good one keeps with their favorite without drama or fanfare. That is how I see it, at least. And, by the way I see it, you're an excellent trainer! Come on, everyone, let's give a round of applause for Raven!"

Much to Raven's embarrassment, everyone there began clapping and whistling.

"Alright then. Hand me your Frontier Pass for a moment, okay?"

Raven nodded as she reached into her pocket and handed her the Frontier Pass. So far, so good… Once she beat Darach and Dahlia, then… she'd have all five Frontier Prints! She was getting kind of excited…


	49. Chapter Forty Eight

Author's Notes: Am I... possibly hinting at something? Like, a certain person that appears as a trainer in Pokémon Black and White? Am I hinting that I intend to write a story for Pokemon Black and White?

...Yeeeessssss.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Hey, hey! Caitlin!~"

Caitlin looked up from the throne she sat in to see… that boy, Jun. How the heck did he manage to get up where she was? Rather… How did he get past Darach and his obsessive protection…?

"…Yes?"

"You want come light fireworks? That Pearl lady bought some for us!"

A smile lit up Caitlin's face. "Oh, yes…!"

"You… how dare you…?"

The two looked up to see Darach standing there, trying to catch his breath.

"I won't allow you to speak with Lady Caitlin in such a familiar fashion!"

"…So, we'll be lighting them up in a hour, 'kay?" Jun said, completely ignoring Darach. "We'll be waiting out at the Battle Frontier's entrance!"

Caitlin nodded in response, and so Jun ran off, and Darach stood there practically in tears.

* * *

And so, it was now about 7 P.M., and a group had gathered outside the Battle Frontier's entrance. Said group consisted of…

Raven, Jun, Lucas, Dawn, Pearl, Brendan, Yellow, Lyra, Gold, and Silver, with Silver being forced to join the group.

Caitlin, along with the overly-paranoid Darach, who was attempting to make Caitlin put on sunscreen, despite the fact that the sun was setting.

And the other Frontier Brains, with Thorton claiming that he always wanted to know how a firework… worked.

"Put on the sunscreen!"

"I don't want to!"

"I said to do it!"

"Never!"

"Lady Caitlin, I demand that you put on the sunscreen, or I will put it on for you!"

"Oh, you mean like you weren't already going to do that?"

Darach gasped dramatically. "L… L-lady… Caitlin…. That is it! I am putting on the sunscreen, no ifs, ands, or buts!"

"No buts? I can clearly see yours!"

Darach gasped again. "How vulgar! My buttocks aren't clearly noticeable! And… and…"

Caitlin twirled around, walking away from him to go stand next to Raven. She then folded her arms across her chest and glared at Darach.

Darach was speechless, only managing to say random letters. Which included the letter X.

"Hahah, looks like little Caitlin's starting to not listen to you!" Dahlia laughed.

"Ga… Ge… Ji…"

The group then began walking off towards the ocean; other people had apparently already thought of the idea of setting off fireworks there and stood off in their own groups doing so.

Darach was now glaring at the group Caitlin now seemed to be so friendly with. Once Lady Caitlin had begun to befriend these… children, she had started to become more disobedient.

…And yet, on the other hand, she seemed to be happier. Not that Darach was going to admit that anytime soon, though.

"Okay, okay, what do we start with?" Jun asked excitedly.

"How about the big ones that explode in the air into lots of beautiful figures?" Caitlin suggested.

"…Er, we didn't get any of those. But I'm sure we'll be able to see some later on this month!"

"…Is that so…"

The group opted to use the sparklers first, with Raven refusing to touch the sparklers for some odd reason and Jun swinging his own sparkler around so much that it went out faster than anyone else's.

Caitlin then suggested that they scare the hell of out Darach by lighting up a black snake firework and placing it near him.

…Their plan succeeded and Darach screamed like a little girl, running down the beach so fast that he could have set a world record for speed.

"…You know…" Caitlin began as they simply sat in the sand and watched other people set off fireworks. "…After being with everyone these past couple of days… I think, maybe…"

"Lady Caitlin! Hurry, put on bug-"

Darach's cries to Caitlin were cut off as Dahlia skillfully kicked him in the side as he lunged towards the group.

"…Um, anyways…" Caitlin continued, glancing at Darach quickly. "Don't tell Darach this, but… I think I want to become a Pokémon trainer."

"Ehhhh, really?" Raven asked in response.

Caitlin nodded. "I think… maybe I'll go back to my home region and get a Pokémon there, you know? And I'll travel across the region and beat the Gym Leaders. After all," she looked up at the others, "that's what you guys did, right?"

"Yeah, totally!" Jun said. "I beat all eight Gym Leaders, you know!"

"Ah, but!" Lucas said and waved a finger around. "You didn't beat the Elite Four!"

"Gaaah, don't mention that! Jeez, Lucas, you're making me look bad!"

The group all laughed at this, including Jun and Lucas.

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me…" Raven began, looking over at Caitlin. "Caitlin, where's your, uh, home region…?… Uh oh."

Caitlin looked at the others in confusion, who were all pointing to the area behind Caitlin. She looked over her shoulder to see…

Darach standing there, looking down at her with an unsure face.

"Oh. It's just you, Darach," was all she said.

Darach frowned as he said, "…Lady Caitlin, you will _not_ go back to that place."

"Oh? And who said that you're allowed to order me where I can and can't go?"

Darach's frown deepened. "I'll have you know this, my Lady… Ever since you began hanging out with these… monkeys…"

"Hey, we aren't monkeys!"

He glared at the group, or specifically at Raven (since she was the one who had said that line). "I am not talking to you right now. Don't interrupt me."

And now his attention was back at Caitlin. "Ever since you began to hang out with them, you've been becoming more and more… unruly. This is why I didn't want to you to be with other people, do you understand? Being with them only causes you to begin acting just like them… you become unladylike. It is simply a terrible thing."

"Darach, are you saying that you refused to let me have any friends… because you thought that I'd be less of a lady?"

"That statement is incorrect. I did not think that at all. I _knew_ it would happen if you did so."

Caitlin pursed her lips. "It doesn't matter at all! I _want_ to go back home and become a trainer!"

"You will not, and that's final."

"You can't tell me what I can't and can do!"

"Yes, I can, in fact. You are still a minor, and I am your legal guardian."

Caitlin twirled around to face her group of friends. "All of you! What do you have to say about this?"

"Uh…"

Darach grabbed a hold of Caitlin's hand and began walking off back towards the Battle Frontier with her. Caitlin tried to stop him, which resulted in him starting to drag her across the ground.

"Lady Caitlin, please do stop this at once!"

Finally, Caitlin managed to pull herself away from Darach and stepped back towards the beach. "…Darach."

Darach looked at her like he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do anymore. "…Yes?"

Caitlin looked back at the now-stunned group. "…Raven, you are challenging the Battle Frontier for the prints, correct?"

"Er… yeah…?"

"Very well. Darach!" she said and looked back at her butler. "Raven will battle you tomorrow! If she wins, I will go back home to become a trainer. If she loses, I will stay here."

Darach's eyebrows furrowed, but he answered, "…Very well."

Meanwhile, Raven was twitching in the sandy beach, stunned about this sudden outcome. How the hell had she been dragged into this at all…?

Jun placed a hand on her twitching shoulder and, with a serious face, said, "…I wish you the best of luck, young grasshopper."

"W-w-why… Why do I have to do this?" she whined.


	50. Chapter Forty Nine VS Darach

Author's Notes: Who will win the battle? WHOOO?

By the way, Darach is using his Gold Print team for the battle. I think it sucks that certain legendary Pokémon are allowed and others aren't. Like Manaphy isn't allowed in. 'Cause that's _such _a fearsome Pokémon. Compared to, say, Azelf, who is allowed in.

Sorry, I'm kinda ranting. Whoops.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Nine

The next day and, thus, the day of Raven's battle with Darach. For some reason, lots of people seemed to be excited and were gathering at the Battle Castle.

"I feel sick…" Raven whined, hiding under the covers in the bed she had slept in. "I don't wanna get up…"

"Come on, you have to!" Pearl answered. Seeing as how Raven wasn't going to leave the protection of her bed anytime soon, she walked over and tore the covers off her. "Come on, get up!"

In response to her protection being so easily destroyed, Raven curled up into a fetal position.

"Get up!" Pearl ordered.

Raven turned around to face her back at Pearl.

Pearl suddenly grinned evilly as she said, "Regardless of whether you get up or not… I've got a new outfit for you! Hohoho!"

"What are you, Santa Claus?"

Pearl yanked Raven out of the bed and proceeded to manually dress her into the new outfit she got for her.

* * *

About a half hour later, Raven was at the Battle Castle with Pearl, dressed in a Chinese-themed short dress with black shorts underneath. She really, really hated dresses, and begged Pearl to let her wear shorts underneath it.

"Oh, by the way…" Pearl said and reached into her pocket, pulling something out. "Go ahead and use this Pokémon."

Raven took the Poké Ball Pearl handed her and managed to see the Pokémon inside… a black Pokémon with yellow rings on its body.

"…Why are you giving this to me?"

"I'm not giving, I'm lending. As for why… You'll need a strong Pokémon for when you battle Darach."

"…But I've done fine with my other Pokémon before."

"…You don't quite get it, do you?"

Raven tilted her head to the side as a sign that she didn't have a clue what Pearl was talking about.

"This is a battle to decide on whether Caitlin goes to back home or not. He's obviously going to give you a hard time about it, too, so I'm sure he'll use strong Pokémon in an attempt to win."

"…? I still don't understand…"

"Oh, jeez, you're an idiot, aren't you?" Pearl sighed, shaking her head. "He doesn't want Caitlin to leave. And since she's basing whether or not to leave on who wins the battle, he obviously wants to win so she'll stay!"

"…Ohhh. Oh."

Pearl sighed again. "You understand now?"

"Yeah… But…"

"But what?"

Raven looked up at Pearl with an unsure expression. "…What if I lose?"

Pearl shrugged. "Then you lose. So what?"

"But then… Caitlin won't be able to… Do you think she'd get mad at me if I lost?"

Pearl looked at her for a moment before patting her head. "…Probably!"

Raven grimaced. "That's not very encouraging, you know."

"Hahah! I'm sure you'll win! You're a great trainer, you know! That's why you won the Pokémon League!"

Finally, a smile crossed Raven's face. "…Yeah! Thanks!"

Eventually, it was time for Raven to start her battle. Much to her surprise, a crowd had gathered to watch; apparently, some people had heard about the situation and were excited to see it.

The battlefield was a golden carpet, and yet, one could see the field's outline in it. Flights of stairs led up to an area where there was a throne; to be specific, two flights of stairs, one of each side of the battlefield. For some reason, Raven had the feeling that the entire area was sparkling.

Raven had came out onto the field via a dark hallway, the entrance covered with red curtains. Soon enough, both Darach and Caitlin came through the curtains, and Caitlin gave Raven a small wave. She then proceeded to walk up the stairs and sat down in the throne.

Raven and Darach took their respective spots on the battlefield and looked at each other silently. Finally, Darach spoke.

"…I will not allow Lady Caitlin to return to that place. Therefore, I will absolutely win this battle."

"Alright! Then let's start this, Darach!"

Darach frowned at the friendliness she was displaying towards him, but nonetheless sent out his first Pokémon; the beautiful (in Darach's opinion only) lion-like Entei.

"I will start with Entei."

"Oh, come on! That's totally cheating, that's a legendary Pokémon!"

"Ah, but! The only restricted Pokémon from the Battle Frontier are…" Darach began and started to list all the restricted Pokémon… "Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus."

"Ehhh, really?" Raven whined and pouted for a moment. She then remembered that she also had to send out her own Pokémon, and did so, sending out the Pokémon that Pearl had lent her.

"Oh, can you wait a moment?" Raven continued and took out her PokéDex, pointing it at the Pokémon she was using, and yet, had never seen before. "Okay, so this is Umbreon… Let's see… Those are its moves, and… Umbreon, use Toxic!"

"Entei, please begin with Sunny Day."

Entei moved first, opening its mouth and shooting out a ball of light up in the air. The ball exploded, causing the room to become extremely bright.

Umbreon also opened its mouth to spit out a purple liquid at Entei, which could be seen sinking into it. Entei seemed to be in pain from it, judging by the expression on its face, but the painful expression soon disappeared, and it glared at Umbreon as it awaited its next order.

"Umbreon, use Psychic!"

"Entei, please use Fire Blast."

Once again, Entei moved before Umbreon, letting out a blast of fire that encircled Umbreon and closed in around it, burning it. In retaliation, Umbreon's eyes began to glow and an unseen blast knocked Entei back.

"Umbreon, use Wish!"

"Entei, Solarbeam!"

This time, Entei fired off a beam of light at Umbreon, causing the smaller Pokémon to tumble backwards a bit. Umbreon closed its eyes for a moment, supposedly to make a wish, but then nothing happened.

"Entei, Hyper Beam!"

"Umbreon, use Protect!"

Umbreon quickly pulled itself into a ball and a light green barrier could be seen glowing from its body. Entei fired off another beam of light, which slammed into the barrier but didn't harm Umbreon at all.

At that, a different light, one that was shaped almost like a star, began to glow above Umbreon, and previous injuries and scratches on its body began to dissolve.

Darach seemed to be getting rather annoyed by the way things were going. He certainly didn't hear about this kid owning an Umbreon… But then again, Raven had no idea that he had an Entei. In a way, it was somewhat even.

"Entei, use Fire Blast again!"

"Umbreon, use Wish!"

Entei once again blew out a giant wave of flames that began to burn Umbreon, who once again closed its eyes and began to make another wish.

Suddenly, though, Entei collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"W-what is this…?"

"Hahah, Darach, you forgot, didn't you?" Raven clicked her tongue in response to Darach's clear surprise. "Umbreon started this battle by using Toxic on Entei!"

…Oh. Darach forgot about that part. He returned Entei to its Poké Ball, and sent out his next Pokémon; one that wouldn't be affected by poisoning.

A tall, penguin-like Pokémon by the name of Empoleon came out to face Umbreon.

"Umbreon, use Toxic!"

Darach sneered. She hadn't a single idea about Empoleon's second type…

"Empoleon, please use Signal Beam!"

Unlike the previous time, Umbreon moved first, spraying a purple liquid at Empoleon. However, it merely fell off the penguin Pokémon, having absolutely no effect on it as it fired off an oddly colored beam at Umbreon.

This move managed to cause Umbreon to faint, much to Raven's disappointment.

Raven returned Umbreon to its Poké Ball, mumbling to herself as she sent out her next Pokémon…

"Go, Guru-n!"

Now, this surprised Darach. He had heard from someone that she owned a Pokémon from the Ralts evolution line, but he didn't know that it was a Gallade. Well, she would be surprised about his final Pokémon… If she ever managed to see it, that is.

"Guru-n, use Leaf Blade!"

"Empoleon, please use Signal Beam once again!"

Guru-n was the faster of the two, lunging at Empoleon to slash at it with his elbows. The attack knocked Empoleon back a bit, but it didn't faint, managing to fire off the same kind of beam from before at Guru-n.

"Okay… let's use Close Combat, Guru-n!"

"Use Surf, please, Empoleon."

Guru-n hurried up to Empoleon, letting loose a flurry of punches and kicks at the Pokémon. In retaliation, Empoleon summoned up a wave from who-knows-where and had it crash down on Guru-n. Despite the force of the attack, Guru-n still managed to stay up.

"Once again, Guru-n!… Eheh, I rhymed… I mean, use Close Combat!"

Yet again, Guru-n used the same move as before, and this time, Empoleon toppled backwards and fainted.

Darach quickly returned his Empoleon and sent out his last and final Pokémon…

A Gallade.

Raven blinked a couple of times and rubbed her eyes. Surely she wasn't seeing doubles… Darach was using a Gallade as well!

"…Ack, this is gonna be a little tough…" Raven muttered and shook her head. "Anyways… Guru-n, use Shadow Ball!"

"Gallade, please use Aerial Ace."

Darach's Gallade was the faster of the two, lunging forward to slash down at Guru-n and then slash upwards. The attack was powerful enough to cause Guru-n to fall down and faint.

"Ah, Guru-n! Oh, damn it! Go, Piplup!"

Raven sent out her last Pokémon, Piplup.

"Okay, Piplup, we can do it! Use Drill Peck!"

"Gallade, please end this battle with X-Scissor."

Both Gallade and Piplup dashed towards each other, with Piplup managing to attack Gallade first, launching a spinning peck at it. In return, Gallade slashed down at Piplup in an X motion, knocking the little penguin Pokémon down to the ground for a moment. However, Piplup quickly stood back up.

…Hmm, Darach was expecting that single move to be able to defeat the Piplup… Yet, it didn't seem to be enough.

"Gallade, please use Stone Edge!"

"Piplup, use Hydro Pump!"

Piplup took in a deep breath and fired out a jet of water at Gallade. At the same time, Gallade launched several sharp stones at Piplup. Both Pokémon were sent flying backwards.

But only one Pokémon stood up, having not fainted from the attack of the other…


	51. Chapter Fifty

Author's Notes: Whew! 50 chapters (51 if you include the prologue) and only 2 reviews! I'm doing well so far!

...The worst part is, I wasn't being sarcastic. ._. I wonder... why no one reviews my stories...

Well, whatever.

* * *

Chapter Fifty

Darach returned his Gallade, a smile on his face. He had won the battle. Therefore, Lady Caitlin would stay here, at the Battle Frontier, with him…

However, much to his surprise, he spotted something brown and pink run by him… It was Lady Caitlin, running past him to go see the other girl's Pokémon.

"Is your Piplup okay?" Caitlin asked, helping Raven's Piplup sit up.

"Aw, yeah, he's fine!" Raven replied. "Piplup's used to losing."

"Oh, thanks so much for that comment…" Piplup grumbled, rolling his eyes. Sure, he hadn't any energy left to battle, but he could still make sarcastic remarks.

Raven frowned. "Sorry, Caitlin. I lost."

Caitlin shook her head. "No, it's fine. You did your very best, I can tell."

…Why?

…Why was it that Lady Caitlin seemed to care so much about her newfound friends? She surely wasn't like this a week ago, where she would simply reply to anyone that talked to her in a cold tone of voice.

What exactly had changed her so much that she would leave the protection of Darach to go and become friends with the first person she saw?

…

He just couldn't understand it at all.

* * *

"I guess I'll go try out the Battle Arcade next!" Raven said happily.

"Oh, really?" Pearl asked and then grinned evilly. "But that's a place that you'll need to have good luck and timing for! Honestly, you have pretty bad timing, and… well, your luck is okay, I guess."

"Hey, can I use your Umbreon for that challenge…?"

"Ahahah, no!"

Raven began to pout, much to Pearl's amusement. "…Say, Pearl," Raven continued, still pouting, "…You see to have a lot of Pokémon I've never seen before. Why don't you ever use them…?"

"Oh, well… I tend to catch a lot of Pokémon for Dad's research," she answered. "As for Umbreon… I actually happen to have all of Eevee's evolutions! I raised them! Also, those Pokémon that Brendan used during the Pokémon League… Except for Swampert and Grovyle, those Pokémon were also caught and raised by me!"

Now, that made everyone sitting at the table (which consisted of the usual group), look at Pearl with various expressions, which mostly ranged from horrified to admiration.

"…I had no idea you were such a scary trainer!" Jun whined and began to move as far as from Pearl as he could… and yet still trying to remain at the table so he wouldn't leave his precious food.

"But, anyways!" Pearl continued and karate chopped Raven's head. "You need to keep this in mind! Empoleon is part steel, which means that poison-type moves like Toxic don't work on it!"

"Ohhh. That's why it didn't work?"

"Exactly! Which reminds me… while you're at the Battle Arcade, you should totally use Magnemite. Since it's a part steel type, it'll be immune to the poison event on the game board!"

Raven tilted her head to the side. "…Game board?"

"You'll figure it out once you go there!~"

At that, Raven stood up from the table and began to run off out of the building. "All right, I'm going to the Battle Arcade! See ya!"

"Wait for meeee!" Jun screamed and dashed after her. "I wanna go toooo!"

* * *

After simply refusing to take the double battle challenge with Jun, Raven proceeded to challenge the Battle Arcade by herself. Taking Pearl's suggestion to use Magnemite in her team, she also used her Snorunt (who she took out of the storage system) and Cherrim.

"Would you like to save the-"

"Arceus, is that an inside joke between all the Battle Frontier workers or something?"

"Ahahah, sorry, sorry. I'll now bring you to the battlefield!"

Raven sighed as the attendant began walking away, with Raven following him. He brought her into a dark room, and it was there that Raven saw the game board Pearl had talked about.

…It was a giant board… On the wall.

"Holy mother of Yuki Nagato," Raven said. She continued looking up at the wall in awe. That's one hell of a game board.

"Welcome to the Battle Arcade!" the announcer, a guy with sunglasses on, said. "First, I'll need to hold on to any items held by your Pokémon. Alright, now… Game no. 1! Come on!"

At that, a girl who was probably a little older than Raven came out to take her place across the field.

"Without further ado… Let's activate the game board! Because it's the first game, the game board will stop on its own!"

The game board lit up, showing various kinds of panels, some red, some gray, and some dark purple.

A red marker began moving around on the screen, slowing down to a stop eventually, landing on a red square with the words "Lv. Up".

"The match will commence with Leah's Pokémon's levels up!"

"Ohhhh… Oh," was all Raven had to say. Now she understood the Battle Arcade well… If she won the battle, she'd get to tell them when to stop the game board. If she lost… it was game over. But, there was something she just couldn't quite understand…

How the hell had Pearl managed to beat the Frontier Brain…? Rather, where the hell did she get all those Pokémon…?

* * *

The Battle Arcade had been an easy place for Raven. She did have pretty good timing, and she managed to usually stop the game baord where she wanted it. On the other hand, though, she seemed to land on a lot of purple spots, which usually ended up doing something bad to Raven's Pokémon.

And then she ran into Gold and took part in the double battle challenge with him. Needless to say, Jun was pissed when he found out that she went to do tag battles with Gold and not himself.

And, eventually, Raven felt like she should go see Caitlin and check on how she was doing. She hadn't seemed very angry at Raven when she lost, but…

…When Raven found Caitlin, she was busy arguing with Darach in front of the Battle Castle. People walking around had stopped to watch the two shout and scream at each other.

"…Maybe this is a bad idea. I'll check back later…" Raven grumbled and turned around to walk back to the Battle Arcade.

"Wait a second! Raven!"

"…Damn it," she grumbled and slowly turned around to see Caitlin motioning towards her to come over.

And so, she slowly walked over to Caitlin, a look on her face like she just got caught spray-painting someone's car.

"…Yes?"

"Darach doesn't understand it! He doesn't understand why you and I are friends! So explain it to him!"

"…Do I have to?"

Caitlin grabbed her hands and looked her straight in the face. "…Please?"

Raven looked at Darach, who was looking at Raven like she was on the same level as Magikarp. "…I'm friends with Caitlin because she's nice, and she seriously needs to get outside some more. The end."

And then she tried walking away, only to be stopped because Caitlin was still holding tightly onto her hands.

Still frowning, Darach stated, "Lady Caitlin, even though the monkey lost, and must stay in Sinnoh with me, why do you still persist on these matters?"

"Hey, I'm not a monkey. Damn butler dude."

Darach shook his head, as if he was ridding himself of Raven's comment, and reached out to grab Caitlin's shoulder.

"Lady Caitlin, let us go back inside. If you keep standing out here, your skin will become sunburned."

Caitlin sniffed and looked int the oppostie direction. "No! I'm going off with Raven to hang out."

"…Can I go now?" Raven asked.

"Yes. Let's go."

And with that, Caitlin and Raven began walking off somewhere, much to the disdain of Darach.

* * *

"So, anyways, Caitlin!" Raven started. She and Caitlin were sitting on a bed in the hotel room that Raven and her friends were staying in, currently watching T.V. "I remembered something… You said something about your home region, right? Where is it?"

"Oh, sorry!" Caitlin giggled. "I forgot that I didn't tell you. It's in the-"

…Caitlin was interrupted by the untimely entrance of Lyra.

"Yahoooo! What's going on 'round here?"

…Lyra did a horrible imitation of a Southern accent.

"Arceus, Lyra, why'd you interrupt us? I was about to get to the good part!"

Lyra's usual grin grew even wider as she said, "No, please, I didn't mean to interrupt you two. Please, continue on with whatever you were doing, and pretend I'm not here."

"…I have a feeling that you're taking what I said in a… 'different' way than what I meant."

"Yeah, probably."

Raven let out a sigh. Clearly, she wasn't going to figure out where Caitlin's home region was anytime soon…


	52. Chapter Fifty One

Author's Notes: Much like the first line in the chapter, this was out of the blue... I was just writing away, not thinking about anything at all... And then this came to be. :|

* * *

Chapter Fifty-One

"Say, this is out of the blue, but… where's Jirachi?"

Raven paused what she was doing (which was currently nothing) to look back at Silver.

"…Well, duh, I don't know."

"Don't you just say that, you idiot!"

"Uh oh, looks like Raven flipped Silver's 'Tsuntsun' switch."

"How many times have I told you to stop saying that? I'm not that at all!"

And while Gold and Silver argued, Dawn began talking to Raven.

"You don't know where Jirachi is? Where's the last place you saw it?"

"Um, beats me. Maybe when the island got sucked into the Distortion World for a second time?"

"…"

"Um… Sorry?"

Dawn rolled up a magazine and smacked Raven on the head with it. "That's no good! Someone could've kidnapped it, you know?"

"Hm… Actually, what day is today?"

"Beats me."

Raven seemed to think for a moment. "…Is the Millennium Comet still out?"

"…You know… I think today's the last day that it's out."

Raven's eyes widened and she bolted from the hotel room, hurrying down the stairs and running outside. Of course, no one was expecting this sudden reaction, and they all looked at each other uncertainly before deciding to follow Raven.

"Jirachiiii? Where are you? JIRACHI!"

"What _are_ you shouting about this late at night?"

Raven spun around to see Thorton, in the middle of yawning, standing there behind her.

"It's… Jirachi! I can't find it!"

"I swear to Arceus, if someone kidnapped it again I'm-"

"No, that's not it!" Raven shook her head around. For some reason, she looked like she was about to cry. "It's… It's the last day that the Millennium Comet is out! That means Jirachi is… it's gonna…"

Thorton seemed to understand exactly what Raven was saying and simply nodded, before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, where's the place that you found Jirachi at?"

"Oh… it's north of here, by the Survival Area!"

"Then, let's go there, okay?"

Raven nodded quickly, and she and Thorton hurried off to go find Jirachi…

* * *

…Much to their surprise, Jirachi was there. It floated there in silence, looking up at the sky with a blank look.

"Jirachi!"

Jirachi turned its head and looked for the source of the voice. Naturally, it was Raven. A grin crossed its face as it called out…

"Hey! What's up?"

"Don't you 'what's up' me!"

"Ahahah, sorry, sorry!" Jirachi sang happily. At that, a sad look crossed its face…

"…I'm sorry. I have to go now."

"W-why? Can't you stay longer? I barely got to spend time with you!… Ah, damn it, I wanted to know your other skills! Ohhh, why?"

Jirachi shook its head. "Sorry. Maybe I'll see you again in another seven years? But I do have to go now, not just because of the Millennium Comet."

"Huh? Then why?"

"'Cause there's a big meeting of all the legendary Pokémon, duh! We have to meet the 13 new legendary Pokémon recently revealed."

"Huh? What's this about 13 new legendary Pokémon?"

"Ahahah, nothing, nothing! Pretend you didn't hear that!"

Raven frowned. "…But, anyways… I…"

"No use trying to persuade me! I have to go, and that's final!"

"…I'm sorry."

Jirachi tilted its head to the side as it asked, "What?"

"I said I'm sorry. Everything that's happened to you… It's all my fault. I should've taken better care of you, but you ended up getting caught and used by bad people…"

"Come on, don't blame yourself! It was inevitable! It's not your fault!… Sort of."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Raven answered, rolling her eyes.

Up in the night sky, dark clouds covered the stars and the moon. Suddenly, though, there was a break in the clouds, and the area they stood in began to glow.

"Whoa, hey, what's this?"

Raven spun around to see that everyone else had found them and were looking around in confusion at the area's sudden glowing.

"…Guys…"

Jun looked over at her, a determined look on his face, and said, "…We know. You don't need to explain."

"Well, everyone!" Jirachi started talking, but began to yawn. "It's about time… I left…"

"Jirachi…"

Lights began to twirl around Jirachi, increasing in number as the seconds went by.

"Everyone!" Jirachi shouted over the sudden sound of wind. "I'll grant everyone one final wish!"

"Huh? What is it?"

"May the rest of your lives… be filled with exciting times and fun!"

"What kind of wish is that, huh?"

Jirachi laughed at that. It then raised its tiny arm in the air and began to wave at them.

"I hope we'll meet again!"

Everyone shouted back various things to Jirachi, which all essentially had the same meaning…

"We'll meet again!"

And with a sudden burst of light, Jirachi disappeared, off to where it would remain… for another seven years…

…

"You okay?" Thorton asked, placing a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"…Yeah, I'm fine."

"Really?"

Raven turned around to look back at everyone, a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine! 110 percent!"

"…If you say so…"

…And so, everyone began to walk back to the Battle Frontier…


	53. Chapter Fifty Two

Author's Notes: And with the release of Black and White, I've decided to... well, let's just say I'll be writing the sequel to a sequel! Not that anyone really gives a damn, but...

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Two

It was the next morning, and everyone was getting ready for another day. However, Pearl had them all gather together so she could talk to them.

"Okay, guys! I got a call from my dad this morning!"

"Oh shit."

"What? Did his jeep finally break down?"

Pearl sighed. "I wish… But anyways, no. He said that he wants all of us to go to Sandgem Town. He said it's super important, and that we have to come as soon as possible."

"Okay! Let's go!"

* * *

They arrived in Sandgem Town within two hours, by flying, of course. For some reason, Red and Green were already there, waiting for them in front of the Pokémon Center.

"Hey! Hi, Red!"

Red simply nodded in response to their greeting.

"Well, let's go, guys!" Green said and began walking off towards Professor Rowan's lab. "I wish they would've told us what they wanted to say earlier, but no! They insisted that we all have to be here! Arceus, Gramps is so annoying…"

As they walked into Professor Rowan's lab, they were created by four men in lab coats who looked like they hadn't slept in days. Well, except for Professor Birch. That man didn't need to sleep, because he was The Invincible Birch.

"Good morning, all of you!" Professor Rowan greeted them, and then motioned towards a table where lots of chairs were set up. Small mugs were also set up, and Lucas's mother and father could be seen getting things out of a refrigerator and arguing with each other.

"You haven't eaten breakfast, I assume? Well, there's things to eat, so don't worry."

"Is Professor Rowan a mind-reader?" Raven whispered to Lucas, who shrugged.

They all took a seat at the table, and the four professor began to gather some things together before they came over to them to begin to talk.

"Well, the initial start of this meeting between the four of us was to merely share our findings with one another," Professor Rowan began to talk. "However, just yesterday, we learnt something new."

At that, Professor Rowan placed a couple of photos down on the table for them to look at.

…These were Pokémon that none of them had ever seen before. There was an otter-like one with a mouth that looked like an upside-down V, an orange pig-like Pokémon with a curly tail, and a green, lizard-like one that had a smug look on its face.

"Whoa! What the what…?"

"These," Professor Rowan continued and passed out more photos; a furry, chinchilla-like Pokémon, a gray and red fox-like one… "Are new, completely unrecorded species of Pokémon."

The group was too busy looking at the pictures in amazement to bother to respond to him.

"But, you may be wondering. How did we find out about these Pokémon? Well, it happened yesterday, as we did another all-nighter."

"That's not healthy at all."

"It doesn't matter. We were contacted by an unknown person, who began to tell us that she was from a region that we probably didn't know about. She said that she's been trying to get in contact with Professor Oak, Elm, and Birch, but to no avail, as they were here in Sinnoh.

"She said that she's the professor of the Isshu region, and her name is Araragi."

"And, let me guess," Pearl interrupted him to jab a finger towards her father, Professor Birch. "My dad went into hysterics?"

"Yes. Yes, he did. But, anyways, Professor Araragi offered for us to come to the region so we could do research on these new, undocumented Pokémon. That said, the four of us are rather busy here with our own work. Therefore…"

Professor Rowan stopped talking to look at the group.

"We're going to send two of you there. This way, not only can you yourselves explore the region, but you can also document all the new Pokémon and relay information to us."

This seemed to get everyone's attention, and now they chattered excitedly among each other.

"Ohhh, who's gonna go? Who, who?"

"Only two of us? That kinda sucks…"

"ANYWAYS!" Professor Rowan bellowed to silence them; it worked, and they looked up at him with determined expressions. That said, he could see it in their eyes; they were all excited.

"…The first natural choice was Green, since he is Professor Oak's grandson. However, he is a Gym Leader, and we just wouldn't want to distract him from work."

"Yeah, 'cause that's stopped him so much," Gold said sarcastically.

"Anyways… the next choice, and the one we've decided on, would be Miss Pearl Birch and Mister Brendan Birch; after all, they are Professor Birch's children, and I've heard that Miss Pearl is quite the Pokémon capturer."

"What, really?" Pearl said and began to blush. "Ahh, I'm not that great of a Pokémon capturer! Eheh…"

"No, you really are, Pearl," Raven commented, nodding. "So… wait, Professor Rowan, what did you just say?"

"I said that the ones going to the Isshu region are Miss Pearl and Mister Brendan."

Everyone else began clapping, as if the two had just won an important award. Brendan seemed to enjoy the applaud, looking smug like the lizard Pokémon they'd seen in the photo. Pearl, on the other hand, seemed embarrassed, and was blushing.

"Professor Araragi offered to buy tickets for you two. The plane departs on September 23rd, from Viridian City."

* * *

"September 23rd, huh… That seems like a long time from now, but it's only a couple of months, right?" Raven asked.

They were back at the Battle Frontier, in their hotel room. Despite the good news, though, there was a depressing tension in the air.

"…Yeah…"

"…We won't see each other for a while, huh?"

"Well, we can always call each other!… Yeah…"

No one said anything. Despite the fact that they had a couple of months left to spend time with each other, they all seemed to be depressed about this news. Even Lyra had stopped her creepy grinning to frown.

"…Well, let's make this the best couple of months ever!" Gold said excitedly. "We should, like, go and travel around and stuff, you know?"

…No one seemed to be happy about this idea, and it only made them all more depressed.

Gold sat back down on the bed. "…Well, I was thinking… maybe we should go check out Hoenn's Battle Frontier, right?"

"Hey, yeah!" Raven jumped up at this idea, hopping around excitedly. "I forgot that Hoenn had one too!"

"…Sorry, I don't mean to burst your bubble, guys… but even though the plane leaves on September 23rd, we actually need to leave back for Hoenn earlier than that, and then take a boat from there to the Kanto region…"

And yet again, the depressed mood covered over the room. Raven and Gold sat back down to stare at the floor in silence.

"…I guess it can't be helped, huh?"

"Yeah. Nothing we can do about it…"

* * *

If things for that day couldn't get more depressed, Lyra got a call from her mother asking her to come home soon, along with Gold and Silver. Yellow also got a call from her uncle, requesting the same thing of her. And thus, the depressed mood got worse…

"…Well, I'm sure they just want us to come home so they can make sure we're doing okay," Gold said, a strained smile on his face. "We can come back as soon as we can, okay?"

"…"

"Well, Raven, you haven't gotten a call from your parents yet, so you should be fine!" Jun added happily. "…Right?"

"…Yeah, that's right. Dad already saw me, so he knows that I'm fine…" Raven grumbled. "But… I… I don't want everyone to leave! I want to be together with everyone! I already had to have Jirachi leave, and I didn't even get to spend that much time with him! I…"

Raven pulled her knees up to her chest, hiding her face in them. "…I don't want everyone to go away…"

Just then, someone began knocking on the door. Pearl, being the only one who seemed to notice it, got up to answer it. "Hello?"

It was Caitlin. "Hello there. I was wondering, is Raven here?"

"Um, yeah, but…"

Caitlin peeked into the room, seeing everyone sad and depressed. "…What's happening in here? Did something bad happen?"

"Not really," Pearl answered, opening the door wider to let Caitlin in. "It's just… a bunch of us have to leave soon, so we're all kind of… you know, sad."

"…I see…" Caitlin mumbled and continued to look at everyone. "…Raven, I remembered something. I haven't been able to tell you where my home region is yet, have I?"

Raven mumbled something unintelligible.

"The region is called Isshu. It's very far away from here, and… Oh, what's wrong?"

At the word Isshu, everyone's depressed mood got even worse, with Raven falling off the bed and Lucas hiding underneath the bed pillows.

"D-did I say something…?"

Pearl shook her head. "Ah, no, you said nothing. It's just… you see, earlier today, Professor Rowan told us that Brendan and I were going to go to the Isshu region for research, you know? And, well, after that, Yellow, Lyra, Gold, and Silver got calls from home asking them to come back home soon…"

"…I see…" Caitlin mumbled. "When do you have to leave?"

"Well, Brendan and I have to leave some time before September 23rd, but as for Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Lyra… I don't know."

"September 23rd, huh? Well, what's there to worry about, then? You still have a couple of months left! Why don't you make it the best couple of months ever? After all, you guys still haven't got all the Frontier Prints, and you could also try to get all the Gym Badges in a couple of months! You could try to catch all of Sinnoh's Pokémon, you can go to Canalave City's library, you can-"

All of a sudden, Caitlin was tackled by Dawn, who managed to pick her up and begin swinging her around happily.

"That's a great idea! You can even join us for it too, you know?"

"I will, I will!"

…But the question still stands… Which of those things are they going to try to do first…?


	54. Chapter Fifty Three

Author's Notes: This chapter is split up into a bunch of different parts, each detailing a different group's part of the day. Um... yeah.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Three

"First things first! I'm gonna go try to beat Dahlia today!" Raven said excitedly.

"Hah! So am I!" Jun added. "Let's make it a race! Who can battle Dahlia first? Okay, ready, set, go!"

And the two dashed out of the hotel room and ran outside, hurrying off to the Battle Arcade as fast as they could.

"Well, I'd like to go and visit Canalave City's library!" Dawn said. "Pearl, how about you go with me?"

Pearl nodded. "Sure, sure, I'll go! Caitlin, you want to come too?"

"Yes, I would love to go!"

"I think I want to go up and down Cycling Road 15,532 times."

"Lyra, there's seriously something wrong with your head."

"I wanna go to Hearthome City and go into another contest!"

"I'll go with you!"

"Alright, everyone, let's go!"

"YEAH!"

* * *

And so, Raven and Jun began battling separately to see who could battle the Frontier Brain first. Unfortunately, Raven's luck at the challenge didn't seem to fare very well, since she continuously lost on her 7th battle. And, once she completed her 20th battle, she finally spotted Jun nearby.

"Jun! Hahah, I'm on my 21st battle! That means I'll be facing the Frontier Brain next, right?"

"Hahah, true, but…" Jun reached into his pocket and handed her his Frontier Pass. In the bottom left corner, was… the Frontier Print for the Battle Arcade.

"What? You won your battle already? You suck, I hate you!"

"Aww, don't be like that! No need to be jealous! Hahah!"

* * *

"…Um, Miss Dawn, what is this word here?" Caitlin asked, handing Dawn a book she was reading and pointing at the word.

"That's 'scant'. It means 'just about'… Can you seriously not read that?"

"W-well… It's not that I couldn't read it, it's just that I didn't know what it meant! Well, Darach did always read to me, and I never read by myself…"

Dawn just stared and stared at Caitlin, who immediately began trying to come up with something to cover up what she just said.

"I-I mean… Uh… I never _not_ read by myself! Ahahah… Uh, does that make any sense at all?"

"Not really, no."

"…Please pretend that you did not hear what I just said."

"I'll try to forget it."

* * *

Lyra rode up and down Cycling Road on a bicycle 100 times before the bicycle broke apart. She fled the scene so no one could charge her for breaking a rented bike.

* * *

Brendan, Gold, and Silver participated in multiple contests that day. Lucas made poffins for their Pokémon… And the Pokémon seemed to enjoy Lucas's cooking quite a lot. Who knew that Lucas had such a skill…?

* * *

"Ugh, I can't beat Dahlia! She's too hard to beat!" Raven whined, rolling around on the floor dramatically.

"Well, you already know what Pokémon she uses, so maybe you should try to use Pokémon that are stronger against those ones?" Jun suggested.

Raven jumped up and held Jun's hands tightly. "…Can I use your Pokémon?"

Jun grinned. "No!"

"I hate you, Jun! You're soooo mean!"

* * *

"Hey, Caitlin?" Dawn asked, sitting at a table in the library with Caitlin and Pearl. "You said something about that Isshu region earlier…?"

"Oh, that's right!" Caitlin's eyes widened in surprise, like she hadn't remembered that at all. "That's right, I was born in the Isshu region, but I moved to Sinnoh with Darach! Actually, the reason I came to you guys today is because I had great news to tell!"

"Really? Like what?"

With a childish grin, Caitlin said happily, "Darach finally gave in and gave me permission to go back to Isshu to become a Pokémon trainer! And, here's the best part… Miss Cynthia, the champion of Sinnoh, offered to accompany me there so I wouldn't be by myself!"

"Wow, really?" Dawn asked in awe. "That's great! When are you leaving?"

"I'm not quite sure…" Caitlin mumbled. "Miss Cynthia said she'd tell me when she could get tickets for us… But, Miss Pearl, I should tell you! The Isshu region is very different compared to places like Sinnoh! People have very different names and stuff, but they speak the same language as us! I think they may or may not have an accent though…"

"Really? Say, did you own any Pokémon from the Isshu region?"

"Well, no… But I must say, I was quite fond of the Chillarmy that I often saw!"

Pearl and Dawn had no idea what a Chillarmy was, but they didn't say that and just continued to listen to Caitlin talk about the Isshu region.

* * *

Lyra went to Oreburgh City and went to the museum of fossils they had. She attempted to steal a fossil, and was caught by the security guards. Just as they were deciding whether or not to let Lyra go or to put her in jail, Lyra escaped through a closed window. Wait, a closed window…?

* * *

"Ah, something… What…" Gold stammered, looking at his Pokémon in surprise.

…His Aipom had evolved into a different Pokémon.

"What the hell happened to my Aipom?"

"That's…" Lucas began and took out his PokéDex. "That's an Ambipom. It evolves from Aipom when it learns the move Double Hit."

"When did it learn such a move?"

Silver seemed to think for a moment as Gold went into hysterics. "…I think Raven was teaching your Aipom that move when we were at the Magnet Train Station…"

"What? She did this to my baby?" Gold screamed. "Agghh, how did she manage to do such a thing? Why me, Arceus? WHY MEEEE?"

Gold's Ambipom looked confused, and perhaps, a little offended by what Gold was saying. How dare Gold criticize Ambipom's new look…?

And so, Ambipom used Double Hit on Gold, throwing him across the room.

* * *

"I did it!" Raven exclaimed happily, rolling around the ground while holding her VS. Recorder / Frontier Pass. "I won!"

"See? I knew you could do it!" Jun said proudly.

"Yeah!… By the way, here's your Staraptor's Poké Ball," she said, handing Jun a Poké Ball with his Staraptor in it.

Jun then realized it… She'd managed to take his Staraptor to use in the Battle Arcade, and he hadn't even noticed it…

"What the…? Get back here! How dare you steal my Staraptor? I hate you!"

"Wahahah, you'll _never_ catch me!"

…Well, both Raven and Jun had won the Battle Arcade Frontier Print. Now, all that was left for Raven was to defeat Darach and she'd have all the Frontier Prints… On the other hand, Jun still had Darach, Thorton, and Argenta left to defeat. Maybe he could steal one of Raven's Pokémon to use…?

* * *

Lyra forced her Marill to use Surf so that Lyra could ride on its back. Clearly, Lyra couldn't fit on Marill's back, but that didn't stop Lyra.

Poor, poor Marill…

* * *

"What, really?" Gold asked in surprise. "Brendan, you already reached the Master Rank of the Cool Contests?"

Brendan nodded, apparently proud of himself. "That's right! No one beats my Grovyle in terms of coolness."

Brendan was unaware that Swampert was behind him, and Swampert dramatically hid his face in his hands.

"How… how could you say such a thing, Brendan?" he cried and began running off. "I thought I was totally epic! Waaaah!"

* * *

"Say, you guys…"

Raven and Jun looked up from where they were currently scratching off… scratch off cards. Green was there, behind them, and Red was at another booth getting an item with the points he'd collected.

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard of the Sevii Islands?"

"Never heard of it."

"Is that so…" Green mumbled and shrugged. "Well, I was going to say… Maybe you guys should go there to explore. You know, it gives you something to do while your friends are gone."

That seemed to get both Raven and Jun's attention, and they both began hopping around Green excitedly.

"Where is it?"

"How do we get there?"

"Why's it called the Sevii Islands?"

"Does it have seven islands?"

"Calm down, you guys," Green sighed. He then looked over his shoulder to see Red standing directly behind him; for some reason, Green could see that Red was also excited.

"…What is it, Red? You don't know what the Sevii Islands are? Well, that's perfect then! I need to get back to my gym sometime soon, so you guys can all go with Red to the Sevii Islands!"

"YEAH!"

"Well, first of all…" Green continued talking, "You need to take a boat from Vermillion City, 'kay? You need a boat pass though… So you need to go visit a guy named Bill north of Cerulean City. You only need one pass for your entire group. Well… I'm sure you can figure the rest out. Red's gonna be with you, so you should be fine with finding your way around. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

And so, it appears as though another journey would be beginning soon… If those two could remember what Green told them.


	55. Chapter Fifty Four VS Darach II

Author's Notes: Another battle against Darach...

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Four

"…What do _you_ want?"

It was the next day, and Raven had come to the Battle Castle to ask Darach something…

"Come on, battle me!"

"No, you'll have to be like everyone else and battle 20 battles before you can face me."

"Fine, fine! I'll do it!"

* * *

"Hm, an invitation?" Dawn asked, currently fixing her hair in front of a mirror. She turned around to look back at Jun, who sat on a bed and watched her.

"Yeah, yeah! That one guy from Kanto… Green, was that his name? He told us that we can go to the Sevii Islands to explore! You know, to keep us busy while those other two go to Isshu."

"What, really?" Dawn continued talking, although now she was facing the mirror again. "I'll totally go with you guys!"

"Hahah, I knew you'd totally be in for it, Pikari," Jun said, nodding to himself.

"Hmm, which reminds me…" Dawn began. "Caitlin said that Darach finally agreed to let her go back to Isshu. She said that she'd be going there with Cynthia whenever Cynthia could."

However, when Dawn looked up, she saw that Jun had already left the room. "What the-? Jun, you idiot! Don't leave while I'm talking!"

* * *

Darach was now very, very annoyed. That brat… she'd taken advantage of what he had told her and was now shouting at him because he wouldn't battle her.

"You said that I had to battle 20 times and then I could battle you! I battled 20 times, so fair is fair!"

"That's not what I meant! I meant that you had to have a streak of 20 battles, not 20 battles in all! You lost your seventh match each time, that's cheating!"

"You said 20 battles! You didn't mention a streak of it! Fair is fair, battle me!"

True, Raven had reworded what Darach had said in a way that would suit her better. She already knew that one had to have a streak of 20 battles… But because he had said 'You have to battle 20 times', she decided to completely exploit that sentence to suit her.

Who knew that she could be so clever…?

"It's true, Darach," Caitlin said, walking up behind her butler. "You said that! So battle her!"

"Lady Caitlin, why are you…? I already said you could go, didn't I? So why are you insisting that I battle her?"

Suddenly, Raven jumped towards Caitlin and held her hands. "What? You can go where?"

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you. Darach finally told me that I can go back to Isshu!"

"Yay!"

Both Raven and Caitlin began jumping around while holding each other's hands. However, Caitlin stopped this for a moment to look up at Darach.

"Oh, that's right, Darach. Battle her, please?"

Darach sighed. "…"

"…"

"…Fine."

And so, Darach and Raven headed to the battlefield to battle.

* * *

"Battle… start!"

"Alright!" Raven shouted and let out her first Pokémon. "Go, Snorunt!"

The little yellow and black Pokémon came out and did a little skip. Why? Because it could.

Darach sighed. He couldn't believe he was doing this… "Go, Houndoom!"

"Aw, come on! That's cheating!"

Darach rolled his eyes. "Yes, because _I'm_ the one who's cheating."

"Ah, touché."

"Anyways…" Darach coughed into his hand and shouted out a command for his Pokémon, "Houndoom, please use Roar."

And with that, his Pokémon, a black dog-like one with horns on its head, roared loudly at Snorunt. All of a sudden, Snorunt was pulled back into its Poké Ball, and a different one was pulled out…

A Floatzel.

"Hahah, hi, Floatzel!" Raven said happily. "Sorry, I need to use you for the battle! I'll give you back to Jun in a bit!"

…Sure enough, Raven had stolen another one of Jun's Pokémon. Jun was completely unaware of this.

"Well, this is a perfect matchup then!" Raven continued. "Floatzel, use Aqua Jet!"

"Houndoom, please use Counter!"

Floaztel frowned for a moment, but quickly launched itself at Houndoom, surrounding itself with water. It slammed into Houndoom, knocking it backwards. Houndoom quickly slammed into Floatzel after Floatzel attacked it.

"Floatzel, Aqua Jet again!"

"Houndoom, use Crunch, if you may."

Yet again, Floatzel surrounded itself with water and launched itself at Houndoom to attack. This time, the attack managed to cause Houndoom to faint, and the dog-like Pokémon collapsed to the ground.

Darach sighed as he returned Houndoom to its Poké Ball. "You did well, Houndoom. And now… Please, do your best, Staraptor!"

Darach sent out his next Pokémon, the flying-type bird Staraptor.

"Okay, let's go, Floatzel!" Raven shouted. "Use Ice Fang!"

"Staraptor, please use Aerial Ace."

Floatzel charged towards Staraptor, covering its teeth with frozen water and biting down on Staraptor. While still being caught by Floatzel, Staraptor attacked Floatzel with its wing; striking down and then up.

And with that, Floatzel collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Raven quickly returned Floatzel to its Poké Ball and sent out Snorunt. "Okay, Snorunt! Let's use Ice Shard!"

Freezing a couple of chunks of ice in front of itself, Snorunt launched them at Staraptor; feathers flew everywhere from the ice chunks slashing at Staraptor.

And then Staraptor tumbled backwards, unmoving, apparently unconscious. "You've done well, Staraptor," Darach said, returning it to its Poké Ball. "In that case, I will send out my final Pokémon; Empoleon!"

"That one again…?" Raven grumbled as Darach's Empoleon came out on the field. "Well, whatever! Snorunt, use Hidden Power!"

Several small lights surrounded Snorunt and gathered together in front of its hands. And with that, it tossed the light at Empoleon, and it exploded on contact.

That said, it didn't seem to do much damage to Empoleon.

"Signal Beam, Empoleon!"

Empoleon fired off the oddly colored beam at Snorunt, who suddenly skipped out of the way of the beam and began skipping around the field happily.

…Although it was probably scared shitless, and was skipping around out of fear.

"Okay, return Snorunt!" Raven shouted and returned Snorunt to its Poké Ball. "And… go, Piplup!"

And so, Piplup came out of its Poké Ball to face his evolution.

"Omg, wtf?"

…Piplup used chatspeak for no reason whatsoever.

"Okay, it's all okay, Piplup!" Raven said. "Use Dig!"

Piplup sighed and began digging underground in a hurry to get away.

Darach shook his head. "…Empoleon, use Earthquake."

"Oh shi-"

Empoleon slammed its foot down on the ground, causing an earthquake to begin rumbling. That said, Piplup didn't come out of the ground from it…

…

"You killed Piplup!" Raven screamed.

And then, Piplup popped out of the ground, slamming into Empoleon as hard as he could.

"Oh, you aren't dead! Okay, then, follow it up with Whirlpool!"

Piplup sighed and began spinning around to create a whirlpool, which he tossed at Empoleon.

"Empoleon, use Signal Beam."

Empoleon fired off the same colored beam at Piplup, knocking it backwards and causing it to faint.

Raven began pouting as she returned Piplup to his Poké Ball. And so, she sent out Snorunt yet again.

"…Is this going to be a redo of our first battle?" Darach asked. "You can give up now, if you'd like."

"Aw, shut it, you damn butler! Snorunt, use Hail!"

Snorunt conjured up a light blue ball of light and tossed it in the air; it exploded, making the room suddenly cold and making dark clouds appear, despite the fact they were in a building.

"…" Darach sighed and shook his head. "…Empoleon, use Blizzard."

Empoleon nodded and opened its mouth, a blue ball of light appearing from it. At that, snow began to swirl around the ball, faster and faster, until it launched itself at Snorunt.

Snorunt attempted to skip away from the attack; however, it hit Snorunt anyways, tossing it backwards.

"Oh, are we playing that game now?" Raven asked. "Snorunt, you use Blizzard too!"

Snorunt also conjured up a blizzard and sent it at Empoleon. Empoleon didn't seemed fazed by the attack at all, awaiting its trainer's command…

"Earthquake."

And, once again, Empoleon stomped on the ground, causing it to begin shaking. Snorunt lost its balance and fell to the ground, looking around in confusion.

"And now, Empoleon. Signal Beam."

And Raven lost her second battle against Darach.

* * *

"How dare you take my Pokémon without permission? AGAIN!"

"Well, you should've noticed it sooner."

"I did! And I thought I was going crazy, not knowing where it was!"

"Sorry!"

"Oh, okay. You said sorry, so I forgive you!… So, did you win the battle?"

"No."

"Aw, man, you suck."

"Shut up, Jun."


	56. Chapter Fifty Five

Author's Notes: Pokemon-centric chapter! :D This one details what the other Pokemon feel when they learn that they'll all have to leave one another very soon...

It's a bit reminscent of the last episode of the Diamond and Pearl anime. :|

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Five

Piplup and all the other Pokémon sat down on the ground next to a table where their trainers sat at. The Pokémon were all happily talking with each other, having a completely different conversation than the one their trainers were having.

"And so, I was like 'I can't believe Jun didn't notice that she took me from him!'" Floatzel said in a rapsy voice.

"Yeah, sorry that my trainer's a damn Pokémon thief!" Piplup apologized. All the other Pokémon laughed at that.

"…My trainer, yesterday, she…" Marill began quietly and began tearing up. "…Ugh… Uuuu…"

And then Marill burst into tears, having to be comforted by Gold's Ambipom. "It's okay, it's okay."

…And that left all the other Pokémon wondering what the heck Lyra could've done to it that would make it bawl at the mere thought of it.

At that, Piplup overheard the trainers talking…

"I don't want you guys to leave! I wish I could go!"

"What, don't complain! You get to go to the Sevii Islands!"

"Hey, yeah! I think we should go to Hoenn's Battle Frontier! That sounds like fun, right?"

"I've heard that the faculties are different from the ones here, and that there's, like, seven instead of five."

However, Piplup had stopped listening to them somewhere around the second line, and now sat there, staring at his own food with a blank face.

…Leaving?

Raven had been talking to Pearl and Brendan when she said that.

…What did she mean by them leaving? When were they going to leave? He didn't want them to leave; he'd miss Swampert and, although on a lesser scale, he'd miss Grovyle too. And Bellossom, and Minun…

…They weren't really leaving, right? Surely they must be joking around about something.

…Why hadn't their trainers told the Pokémon anything about it?

* * *

Later on that night, Piplup told the rest of the Pokémon what it overheard. Needless to say, they were all as shocked as he was. And then, Piplup thought of a great plan…

Ask them directly about it!

"Okay! Raven, I want sleep in the bed with you tonight!" Piplup declared.

His trainer stared, and stared, and then stared some more at him.

"W-what is it?"

"…Are you feeling okay? Since when do you want to sleep in the bed with me?"

"W-well, I thought… You know, I just love my trainer soooo much!"

"…Guys, I think aliens abducted Piplup."

"Oh, come on!"

Eventually, Raven let Piplup sleep in the bed with her. And then the lights were out; but everyone was still whispering to each other.

And now, for the big question…

"Hey, Raven?"

"What?"

"…Are Pearl and Brendan going to leave sometime soon?"

"Hmm? Yeah, they are. September 23rd; they're going to the Isshu region. Gold, Lyra, and Silver are also leaving soon to go back to Johto. And Yellow also has to go back home."

Piplup hadn't expected his trainer to answer him so bluntly.

So, it was true, then.

Pearl and Brendan were leaving soon to go to another region.

…Piplup didn't sleep a wink.

* * *

"And so, that's what she told me!" Piplup exclaimed to the other Pokémon the next morning. He hadn't slept at all that night, but he still had enough energy to be angry.

The other Pokémon were in shock.

"What? I don't wanna leave!" Swampert whined.

"I… I don't wanna go back… with…" Marill began and then burst into tears. Ambipom once again patted its back to try to calm it down.

Grovyle was being silent as always, but even he seemed to have not known about this news.

"Leaving?" Bellossom asked and then looked at Cherrim, who looked back at her. They then both hugged each other dramatically. "I don't wanna leave unless Cherrim's going!"

"I don't want Bellossom to leave! She's delicious!"

"There's something really wrong about that comment, Cherrim."

"I know."

Piplup was looking down solemnly at the ground. He was really bothered about this news… He missed it when Raven would tell him everything and anything at all.

…But when had she stopped telling him absolutely everything, even things he didn't want to hear…?

"Hey, guys, there you are!"

All the Pokémon looked up at the sound of Dawn's voice, and saw her standing there with the other trainers.

"Come on, it's another day! Let's go!" Jun shouted loudly.

"…Hm?" Pearl began and looked at the Pokémon. "You guys look a little sad. Something wrong?"

Piplup looked at Swampert, who nodded in return to his look. And with that, they both took in a deep breath and shot out a jet of water at the trainers.

"Now!" Piplup shouted to the other Pokémon. "Everyone, run!"

None of the Pokémon objected to this suggestion, and they all ran away from the area, leaving their soaked trainers behind.

"What the heck was that for?"

"The Pokémon are all gone! Why'd they run away?"

"Okay! Let's split up and look for our Pokémon! Got it?"

"Roger!"

* * *

"Oh, jeez, why'd you follow me?" Piplup snapped.

Guru-n, Pichu, Chao, Magnemite, and Cherrim had followed Piplup to where he'd run off at; an area east of the place the Battle Frontier was at.

"…Because it was instinct!" Chao answered happily.

"Ugh… B-but…"

"Ah, oh my god, Piplup's gonna totally cry!"

"I am_ not_! I just, uh, have something in my eye, that's all!"

"Seriously? You can't come up with a better excuse than that?"

"Oh, shut up!"

Piplup rubbed his eyes, turning around so his teammates couldn't see him getting teary-eyed. Why was he so sad…? It's not like they were leaving tomorrow or something, right…? They were leaving months from now, so he still had time, right…?

Why…? Why did they have to leave…?

"Piplup!"

Piplup and his friends spun around to see Raven running towards them.

"What're you guys doing, huh?"

"Ugh… Just leave me alone!" Piplup cried and dove into the water nearby, diving down under and swimming. Underwater, he couldn't be seen crying, nor could he feel himself crying.

Eventually, he surfaced, climbing up onto a small island. He climbed up it, climbed and climbed, until he was at the very top of the island… which was probably more like a small hill in the middle of the water area.

And so, he plopped down, and stared out at the water.

…And he started to cry. No one was out there, so no one could see or hear him cry. He cried, and cried, and cried some more. Eventually, he ran out of tears and continued sitting there, staring at the water.

"PIPLUP!"

…Above him? Piplup looked up in the air to see Raven sitting on the back of a Togekiss… Dawn's, probably. She jumped off its back, landing near Piplup clumsily.

"Piplup, what the heck is wrong with you?"

"You… you don't understand anything!" Piplup shouted. His eyes were stinging again… He was going to cry…

He had to get back in the water. He hurried off down the hill/island, getting ready to jump in. However, he felt something grab onto his hand, and he looked behind himself.

"Piplup, stop! Just tell me what's wrong, won't you?"

"I… y-you… Ugh… You don't…"

Dawn's Togekiss landed behind Raven, and the two both watched Piplup as he attempted to tell them what was wrong.

"Why… Why didn't you tell me anything?" Piplup yelled. And, again, he started crying, rubbing the tears away, and crying.

"You… You used to tell me everything! A day wouldn't pass without you telling me how many freakin' times you burped! And… now… You don't even tell me when… I… I don't want everyone to leave!"

He felt arms wrap around him and he opened his eyes to see that his trainer was hugging him.

"I'm sorry, Piplup… Y-you know… I don't want everyone to leave either!"

And then both of them were crying. Togekiss reached out to pat their backs as they sobbed loudly, wiping their faces on the other one.


	57. Chapter Fifty Six

Author's Notes: It's the final chapter!... Wait, what? Where did this come from?

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Six

"…What? You're… leaving already?"

Pearl patted Raven's head, a sad look on her face. "Sorry. Dad said we should come home as soon as possible and, well, if we don't take this boat back to Hoenn, we'll have to wait some time before the next one."

Raven frowned and looked over at Gold, Silver, and Lyra. "…What about you guys?"

"Well, that same boat is gonna go stop at Kanto before it goes to Hoenn, so…"

"Huh? Kanto? Wait, does that mean…?"

She looked over at Yellow, who sheepishly pulled down her hat. "…Yeah, I have to go to… But I'll be back, don't worry!"

"Yeah! We'll come back, it's only for a short time! Besides, you've got Jun, Lucas, and Dawn!"

"…Yeah, right!" Raven grinned and looked back at her other three friends. "…But… Brendan and Pearl aren't coming back…"

"Come on, stop pouting!" Brendan said. "You can always call us! And, hey, you don't _have_ to stay behind in Sinnoh…"

"No! I am!"

"Suit yourself."

Raven made a face like a Smoochum and mumbled something to herself. "…When does the boat leave again?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, 5:00 P.M."

"…"

* * *

Everyone spent the next day getting ready to leave, much to Raven's dislike. And, when they were finally done, it was 4:40... Twenty minutes left until the boat left.

The group sat in the harbor together, sitting against a fence surrounded wooden and steel boxes. Everyone stared out at the ocean silently; words weren't needed for what they all felt.

Caitlin and Cynthia were also in the harbor with them; Cynthia said they needed to take a boat to Kanto, where there was an airport that they'd take to go to Isshu.

"I bet 15 Mudkips that Darach's having a fit."

"You're right," Caitlin answered and frowned. "…I feel bad, though. All the Frontier Brains came to say good-bye to me… And Darach and Dahlia were both crying. It made me feel bad. I almost wanted to stay…"

"…Hm…"

"…Everyone, let's let out our Pokémon!" Dawn suggested, standing up and taking out her Poké Balls. "We should let them say good-bye to each other…"

Everyone agreed and began to let out their Pokémon. As they were doing so, a horn was heard out in the distance, and a ship could be seen coming towards the harbor…

As the Pokémon began saying good-bye to each other, with a lot of them bawling their eyes out, their trainers also began to say good-bye to one another…

"It feels like a lot has happened, huh…?" Raven asked.

"What? You're not getting nostalgic on us, are you?" Brendan playfully punched her shoulder. "That's not like you at all!"

"Oh, shut it. I'm trying to be serious, you know?"

"Oh, being serious now? I'd say you'd get a F in that category!"

Raven frowned and looked away from him, instead looking at Gold, Silver, Lyra, and Yellow.

"It was a lot of fun being with you guys! You live in Newbark Town in Johto, right?"

"Yep, that's where we live!" Gold grinned. "Oh, but Silver stays at my place."

"Shut up, Gold."

Gold blinked for a couple of seconds and then looked at Lyra, and then at Raven. An evil grin crossed his face, and the other two both nodded…

"Silver, you're soooo tsundere!"

"I am NOT!"

Everyone, Pokémon included, began laughing at this, and even Silver laughed a little bit.

The boat finally came to a stop at the docking area, and as people set up a flight of stairs for people to get onto the ship, the group became silent.

"…Well, I guess this is it…" Pearl said quietly.

"…I don't want everyone to leave…" Raven mumbled; Lucas put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Um, we'll try to stay in contact with everyone, okay?" Pearl continued talking and looked around at everyone. "Um… the professors! I'm sure they'll be in contact with us, so, um… you know… uh…"

"Don't hurt yourself trying to explain it," Gold said and Pearl glared at him.

"…Well, then, um… I guess… we should get going, huh?"

Everyone nodded. And with that, everyone leaving began to walk off towards the ship…

"…"

And once everyone was on board, the ship's horn sounded out, and it began to move away, slowly, from the dock…

…Suddenly, Raven ran off towards the dock, running off to stand at the very end of it. She began waving at everyone on board, and although some people didn't have any idea who this kid was, those who did waved back at her.

"See you guys soon!" she shouted. "H-have fun! Okay?"

"Okay!"

And Raven continued waving and waving, until the boat was only a dot on the horizon…

…Ugh… Her eyes were stinging, and her vision was getting blurry…

"…Raven…"

Someone put a hand on her shoulder and she looked behind herself to see Dawn there, a strained smile on her face.

"…Let's go home."

"Huh?"

"Let's go home… To Twinleaf Town."

And with a grin, Raven nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Let's go!"

The group of four walked away from the harbor to where their Pokémon were waiting for them.

…Next time - A new beginning!

* * *

Woah, wait, what? It's over? Just like that? What the hell have I done? No one even beat Darach and... my pacing, it... WhatisthisIdontevenknow...

...NEXT TIME - A NEW BEGINNING!

And just because I can, I'll post an excerpt from the sequel that I... haven't bothered to post yet.

_"My name is Araragi," a woman said. Her blonde hair was twirled up into a ponytail, and she wore a short, green skirt, a white shirt, and a lab coat. "It's nice to meet you!"_

_And with that, Professor Araragi reached into her lab coat pocket, taking out four Poké Balls. "And now… let's show you some of the Isshu region's Pokémon!"_

_Four Pokémon came out, two of which Brendan and Pearl recognized; one was a Tsutarja, the other Mijumaru, the third was a pig-like one, and the fourth looked like an overly-furry chinchilla._

_"This one's Tsutarja, this is Mijumaru, this one is Pokabu, and this one is Chillarmy. And…"_

_Professor Araragi stopped her talking to look up at them. She pointed to the area behind them and said…_

_"…Is that, um, a friend of yours? I only heard about three people coming today… Not that I mind, of course, but…"_

_Brendan and Pearl looked behind themselves to see a girl with long, pale blonde hair. Wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and a skirt with black tights and boots. Currently, the girl had out a cell phone and was taking pictures of the Pokémon._

Are you looking forward to it at all? :D


End file.
